UK Drivers Abroad

By Philip Youngwood

An online survey by insurance brokers Hastings Direct has revealed that British motorists are not clued-up on basic rules and regulations when driving abroad - a mistake which could land them with a hefty fine or even a jail sentence*.

Hastings Direct recently carried out a quiz which has revealed that British motorists are not street wise when it comes to driving abroad and lack knowledge of the basic rules and regulations. Making mistakes on foreign roads could land them with a hefty fine or even a jail sentence.

Results from the online quiz highlighted that there are a many basic road laws that british drivers are unaware of, leaving them open to potential prosecution and high car insurance losses. The results of the quiz highlighted that more than a third (40%) of those polled were unaware that the alcohol limit for driving in France is just 50mg - compared to 80mg in the UK. Over 60 per cent of those questioned didn't realise that German motorways have speed limits and a staggering one in five (20%) think that you can drive on the left-hand side in Spain.

Hastings Direct also carried out a survey recently of over 2000 people from the UK, highlighted the risks involved in travelling abroad unprepared. According to the results, around one in 10 (nine per cent) don't think it's worth reading up on the driving laws of the countries they are visiting before they travel and nearly a quarter (22%) of people thinking of driving their car abroad don't think to tell their insurance company which risks invalidating their insurance policy. This means that rather than saving money, the cost of their holiday could skyrocket if they are involved in an accident.

Trading director, Mat Shepherd comments "The findings thrown up by the online quiz are really quite worrying - that people are taking their cars abroad without even knowing basics such as the correct side of the road to drive on is astounding. It is shocking that almost one in 10 people take such a laissez-faire attitude to driving abroad and don't read up on international driving laws before their trip. A little research into foreign driving laws could go a long way, enabling you and your family to be safe and legal when on holiday. - 23211

About the Author:

Philip Youngwood writes for a number of online blogs and sources, specialising in car insurance and financial news, topics and industry innovation.

The Recession - How Does It Affect The Forex Market

By Michael Fredericks

The biggest question right now is how the Forex market is being affected during these difficult economical times. It seems that even during a looming recession, Forexs performance is holding steady on the currency market and Forex forecasts are correct.

Though it is impossible for traders not to be worried in such a questionable time. It is hard to determine what might happen in this current market situation, and like any other companies, the Forex market may be affected negatively. It is difficult to determine what we should do and when it should be done.

But anyone who is familiar with the Forex market knows we are a competition zero sum game. In other words, you get back what you put into it.

Our world is in an economic recession and many traders have been in a tailspin, including me. After the September 2008 market crash, the US dollar took a major hit that nobody couldve predicted. These industries had a level of transparency that left the business world at a loss of what to do. We dont have to be helpless to events happening in other markets just because the Forex market is determined by what goes on with other markets.

Last year saw a succession of collapse similar to dominos. The value of the dollar was not fluctuating. The market gave no hint that the large firms and banks on The Street would soon be revealed as so many naked emperors. When all was revealed, overseas investors had grave doubts about any investment on any timeline, now or going forward, and the heavy downward skidding began.

When asking where to turn next for profit, people point towards the Asian market, where their sheer size and production will become the necessity of the world. Investors will surely turn their gaze towards these foreign markets, leading to possible controversy over safety.

There's also the question some are asking, which is what's going on with the Swiss? Things have not bottomed out, most people believe, and in fact some places are just in the early stages of the downturn and could take any number of turns. Is Swiss currency the safe harbor some traders are looking for?

But Asian markets have a reputation for strength in the face of crisis, because such a large market will always have demands for certain commodities. Forex forecasts is aware of the economy shifts taking place and plans to focus more on changing regions, vying to be currency investors and keeping our heads high. - 23211

About the Author:

For more information about forex price action, then you can check out this website: Forex Trading Tutorial

Life Insurance Quotes in a Recession

By James Simpleton

A recent report by the Center for Economic Policy and Research showed an alarming trend amongst life insurance holders in the face of the current recession. There has been a steady stream of families that have opted to drop their life insurance coverage to ease their cash flow. As of the date of the report 4.2 million people have already lost their health insurance and life insurance policies. It is estimated that by the time this recession has run its course, the number of people who will lose their health and life insurance policies will at the very least double. Below are a few pointers and things to remember before you fall into the "uninsured" group.

In the current climate being insured with just a group policy isn't the safest thing. There is a much higher chance of redundancies in the near future and you must be ready for it by getting yourself another independent life insurance quote from an outside provider. If you get sacked then you will also lose your life insurance. When you have lost your life insurance it becomes much harder and often times more expensive than if you were to "change" providers to and independent source before you actually lose your insurance.

There is also something to be said about joint life insurance policies. On the surface of things a joint life insurance program for you and your spouse may seem like a good idea as the price reductions are considerable compared to having just one policy for each person. The problem is that you will only receive a death benefit for one person, not two as with the independent life insurance quotes for each person. Once your spouse dies you are effectively left without life insurance. If you attempt to buy it, you will be charged an exorbitant amount. Get separate life insurance coverage for you and your spouse and not only have one death benefit pay-out.

One area that people can save on is when they have a critical illness policy run concurrently with a life insurance policy. Most people don't know that you can actually make savings if you have both the critical illness and life packaged together in a deal with one insurance provider. Both life insurance and critical illness policies have certain coverage items that may overlap so you have to contact your insurance provider and tell them you want to put both policies into the same product. This will save your money from stopping the double coverage while also save a bit from the insurer giving you a slight policy discount for having more than one insurance product with them.

We also have to address the problem of people stopping their premium payments just so save on a few hundred dollars a quarter. In the face of it, it may seem that saving that few hundred dollars will actually help you survive the recession; however we feel that this is unfounded. You should be cutting back on consumer expenses like renting fewer movies, going out less, changing eating or drinking habits to save money. It is never a wise thing to skimp on insurance, especially one that has the wellbeing of you family at stake. At the very least, it is irresponsible to take away the future death benefit that you family will see when you pass on. It is the time when they need the most money.

Life insurance is a product which is hard to value unless you take your family's financial health question. When that comes into the equation the value of life insurance normally increases substantially. So high that you won't even think of changing or dropping your life insurance coverage for the recession. Don't become another one who drops their life insurance only to regret it later when they can't get it back. - 23211

About the Author:

Easy tips and tricks about the workings of life insurance products and how with a bit of knowledge and backing you can get a great products at bargain basement prices.

System Trading - Do You Have a Trading System?

By Maclin Vestor

A trading system is a methodology of trading. An investor who uses one system and follows a specific set of guidelines when making a decision, follows system trading, and will usually never deviate. A trading system is only one method of trading, and usual requires no thinking. It is possible to have one system that is governed by multiple system.

For example, to have 10 different systems, and select only one stock from each system every month according to the main system's qualifications.

Someone that uses several Trading Systems is a multiple system trader. They have to either have an overall system that encompasses all of them, or make their own decision on which to follow. Doing so can be dangerous, as the purpose of system is to prevent human error. It is advised to be a system trader who trades one system at a time, or trade multiple systems within a larger core system, and avoid being a multiple systems trader.

Trading System - Trading can be awfully hectic without some kind of methodology. You can't expect to take on the best traders in the world who have teams and resources at their disposal just by throwing around money at will hoping that it works. You need an actually defined system in order to be able to trade effectively.

Many successful systems are based on earnings and high potential for growth. Stockbee's trading system often swings for the fences. As a result, it requires a solid degree of protection. Obviously you shouldn't limit yourself to someone else's system, you need to find one that is right for you.

There are two kinds of traders, technical traders, and fundamental traders, each has their own system. Of course there are some who use both.

Technical traders

Some system traders, are day traders. Others are swing traders. Still other people are more of a trend trader. Each will have it's unique system. The system will be based on the technicals. Is it volume that triggers the buy? Is it price movement? A combination of both? Or perhaps it's pattern trading.

Some people even have trading machines or robots that do the work for them. Others rely on pattern recognition done by a system. The method is to sign up for email alerts, or some form of alerts, then make a purchase based on the software's recommendation. There are some people that screen down a stock based on strong fundamentals, and only trade those stocks, but trade them based on the technical chart patterns and volume.

They will sell based on a trend break, or rules on when to take gains such as 20% gain according to their system. They will set a stop loss based on their system as well. It might be 4%, or 8%, or it may be a trailing stop.

Fundamental traders

Fundamental traders might do things a little differently. They are looking for improving fundamentals, or stocks that pass through a certain screener. Zacks.com is a great resource if you want to rely on fundamentals. Earnings is always a big part of a system, and the Zacks' ranking uses earnings revision to get in early when the earnings and company internals appear to be improving. Zacks' has several screens, and their software allows you to screen stocks according to many different options.

Regardless of your trading system, one thing remains important in every single system. Money Management and loss protection.

It doesn't matter what the upside is or win rate is, if you can't protect yourself from major declines, you shouldn't be trading. I don't care if your system is 90% effective (no system is and if they say they are, they're lying), and if the gain is 1,000%. If you put all your money on it repeatedly, eventually you will suffer a loss so catastrophic you will never be able to recover without borrowing money. By taking one loss, you hinder your ability to make money. That is more costly then the potential for greater gains that you would gain by taking additional risk.

Just to illustrate if your system causes you to take a 95% loss, you need a 2000% return just to make up for that loss. You cannot trade like this. No system is better then it's weakest link. That weak link unfortunately for many people is the ability to manage money. Fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned, and doing so will make you a better trader. Better yet, if you do not wish to be a better trader, you can simply follow the rules of a system that contains a methodology on how to manage money and how much to invest before placing a trade.

I recommend that you either have a trailing stop or a hard stop. You can also buy a protective put if you are afraid of a stock bottoming out overnight and plummeting through the stop. Protective puts are like owning insurance. Unfortunately, you have to continue to buy the insurance as it eventually expires if you don't use it. Don't trade options without learning everything about them.

Some puts are not good for some strategies. Longer term trades and Investments will require long-term equity anticipation securities, or LEAPs, where as you may not need to risk as much capital for short term protective puts. A trailing stop should be usually 20%, where a hard stop should be more like 7%. Different systems will require different stops so take this with a grain of salt.

A good investor or trader actually will rarely need to ever be fully invested. There are people that trade on complete margin for a few times the entire year, and the rest of the year they're on the sideline, but generally the best traders that have a career that lasts have lots of money on the side, even more so if they use options and are unhedged. If you are unhedged, that is only playing one side of the market, (all buys, or only playing one theme such as only playing inflation or only playing deflation), you need to have even more cash on the side.

The lower the win rate, the more money on the side you need, and the smaller your positions should be. Any good system won't require you to analyze. Having to do a lot of the thinking can cause you to panic and make incorrect decisions. Most people aren't cut out for that, and that's why it is a smart thing for many to use a trading system.

If you trade within a system, you have a much better chance at placing winning trades. A trading system will have a solid record of success, evidence that it works and has been working, an understanding of the decline and proper money management planning. If you trade within a system, you can estimate your results, and by doing so attain measurable success consistently with a trading system. - 23211

About the Author:

Maclin Vestor teaches about varioustrading systems and teaches you system trading skills that can make you a better trader.

How To Learn Forex Online?

By Jane MacRae

To learn Forex (or foreign exchange) online is a simple way to get yourself warm up with this hot market. Like any other type of investment, it is crucial to get some education before you dive deep. The good news is that, with modern technology, you do not have to leave your home to do your study.

* Know About the Jargon

To play in any financial market, you will first need to speak the language in that particular field. To do so, you can simply go to your favorite search engine and type in "forex terms" or "forex jargon". You will then be taken to a list of relevant pages. Select a good jargon list, and commit some of your time to get yourself with these terms. This will definitely give you some advantage, especially if you are beginner investor.

* Take Online Courses For Free

There are many free online courses designed to teach you the ins and outs of forex currency trading. Taking one of these courses will definitely be worth your time. Again, to find a free course, you can go to your favorite search engine and type "free online forex course" into the search box. Or you can go to a message board frequented by investors and ask if anyone there knows of any good, free courses you should try.

* Learn From the Experienced

If you are already an advanced player in the field but like to learn more, you can also consider the paid options. Many experts, with years of experience in forex trading, are now offering their teaching services online. Although you will have to pay for such courses, the upside is that taking such a course is almost like having a personal tutor, or a mentor who will be there to answer any of your questions, and help clear up anything you find confusing.

Check with people in the market and listen to their recommendations for a good paid online course. Often, those who were once in the same boat as you are in now will be more than happy to help you out.

* Make Use of Free Trial

Once you have begun to learn about forex trading (whether on your own, or with the help of a professional "teacher") you will want to put your knowledge to the test, but without financial risk. There are many sites where you can sign up for a free demo or test account. For about thirty days, in most cases, you can actually try your hands at forex trading for free. These demo accounts will not only let you know whether you are ready to risk your money on the real thing, they will also help you gain hands-on experience.

As you can see, there are a number of ways you can learn Forex online. It is true that Forex trading has opened up a whole world of possibilities to average Joe investors, but you should stay calm. There is no short cut to success in any market, and your investment in education can pave the road for you. - 23211

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