Cheap Car Insurance for Young Drivers

By Mike Smith

If you are searching for cheap car insurance for young drivers, you're quite simply not going to find it because it doesn't exist. No matter what, from the start, premiums for a teenager will be in the $1,000-$2,000 range. Because teenagers are more likely to die from a car accident than from anything else, insurers give them high premiums to make up for this high risk.

Despite the fact that auto insurance for young adults is expensive, there are ways to save on it and make it cheaper...

If the teenager or young adult is on the same policy as a parent, the insurance costs will be lower because the teenager is associated with someone who has a stable income and a good driving record.

Increasing your deductible is recommended if you want to save on auto insurance in general. However, because rates for teenage drivers can be really expensive, increasing the deductible can really ease the pain.

When increasing the size of the deductible, you don't want to expose yourself to too much risk. You want to increase the deductible to a reasonable point, but not to a point where you start wondering why you have car insurance in the first place.

Teenagers may get a discount on their car insurance if they enroll in drivers ed or some other class or program for young drivers.

If you happen to have multiple cars on a policy, you have to make sure that the young driver is assigned to the most inexpensive car (just make sure that they drive it). Some insurers make it a practice of assigning teenagers to the most expensive cars. If the teenager can't be reassigned it is highly recommended that insurers be switched.

Whatever you do, do not report minor accidents to the auto insurer as rates can skyrocket. You can easily repair damage done to the car yourself by going to the junkyard and getting a replacement part.

There's a reason why most teenagers drive used cars. If they were to insure a new and expensive car, their car insurance premiums would be through the roof. The cheaper the better.

The teen can apply for a good student discount if he or she has grades that are at least above a B average. Statistically, students with good grades are more responsible and less likely to get into car accidents. - 23211

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If you want a more thorough look at saving cash on car insurance check out Cheap Car Insurance for Young Teenagers and Cheap Car Insurance for Young Adults.

Options Trading Strategy: The Vertical Leap

By Jordan Weir

Most options traders view options as strictly a short term tool. This is because the idea of a highly leveraged bet with the potential to make big bucks quickly appeals to the risk taker inside all of us. Just like a card counting black-jack player, options strategies can be used to make significant short term gains, provided the trader is careful, and knows what they're doing. But while options are usually employed solely by that group of high-octane traders, they actually have enormous benefits that tend to go unnoticed by many a long term investor.

The stock option strategy I'm about to unveil is rarely used. In fact, I've only briefly heard mention of them on little known websites, and even then, not in enough detail to give an example. So here it is, what I believe may be the biggest secret kept from long term investors on wall street. The stock option strategy for the long term investor.

The strategy is a vertical option spread, using leap options. How this strategy works is you buy one option, while simultaneously selling another option for the same month, but at a different strike price. While XYZ is usually my standard symbol, I will use a real stock in this case. Keep in mind, this is NOT a recommendation. In fact, it would probably be a terrible idea to invest in the example I'm about to give. Its just an example. Yet to get realistic prices for this strategy, it may be helpful to use a real stock.

note:I wrote this part of the article about a short time ago, prices may not be 100% current. at the moment GE is currently at 10.41 per share. In this case, let us talk the January 2011 options, giving GE a large amount of time to go the direction we believe it will. So if you thought GE was an excellent long term buy, it would be reasonable to believe it's going to at least $20 per share by that point. By January 2011, many experts believe the recession to be over, and that single development alone should lead to a substantially higher stock price.

Buy one option to start the vertical spread, and sell a second option at a higher price to complete it. Giving our price target of around $20, and with the current price, 10.41, I would buy the 12.50 strike call option, and sell the 17.50 strike call option. The 12.50 option can be bought for 2.71 at the moment, while the 17.50 can be sold for 1.40, giving us an overall cost of 1.31 per share for the option spread.

Now lets analyze this trade for a second. If General Electric is trading below 12.50 on the January 2011 expiration, both options expire worthless, and the 1.31 per option spread invested is gone. On the other hand, if GE is trading above 17.50, then the 12.50 option will be worth exactly $5.00 more then the 17.50 option, and so the position has a value of $5.00 per share. If its between 12.50 and 17.50, the call we sold expires worthless, while the call we bought will have value equal to the difference between the stock price and the strike price; 12.50 in this case. How do you break even? Well we paid 1.31 for the option spread, so if its exactly 1.31 higher then 12.50 (13.81), then well be at break even if the stock is at that point.

That gives us an amazing return of 281% if GE is above 17.50, for an annualized return of 107% (holding period is 22 months). Due to the high potential for risk - a complete loss of investment if GE is below 12.50 in Jan 2011, you shouldn't put more then you're willing to risk in the trade. Definitely a speculative play. Yet with how much time there is, its a much safer bet then short term options, and significantly more profitable then just buying the shares.

So now that the basic idea is out of the way, what are some examples of vertical spreads I would consider? I am a strong believer in investing in emerging markets, so I'm long term bullish on EEM (IShares MSCI Emerging Markets Investment Index). The January 2011 25-30 vertical on EEM is only going for about $1.88 at the moment, with EEM trading at 25.30 so I think that would be a wise investment. Above 30 it would be worth $5 at expiration, while below 25 it would be worthless. Unless the economy further deteriorates, I can not imagine that occurring.

Similarly, I expect FXI (iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index) to go up. The "China miracle" isn't over, merely in a subdued state due to temporarily reduced demand. The 30-35 vertical Jan 11 vertical would be worth $5 at expiration if FXI is above 35, which from its current price of 28.51, isn't much of a stretch. That vertical spread currently has a $2 price, so that would be an even 150% return from now until January 2011.

An infinitely more controversial play would be Bank of America. While the trader in me screams to short the stock, I foresee it being far more valuable then it currently is a couple years down the road. The simple reason is that yes; the financial sector has been hammered by the current collapse. Yes, some banking companies have went bankrupt, or have been on the verge of bankruptcy. Is the financial system going to completely collapse? No. Are out of control bank runs going to drive them out of business? No. Are people going to want to borrow money again after this recession ends? YES! Is pent up demand in housing going to cause a rush to buy houses at prices not seen in a decade? YES! Are banks going to profit from this? Most DEFINITELY. If BAC is above $10 at the January 2011 expiration, the 7.50-10 vertical for Jan 2011 would be worth 2.50, while only costing about $0.65. That would give a 286% return, or 108% annualized. The risk of course, is that BAC goes bankrupt, or BAC flounders under the $7.50 per share mark past January 2011. In either case, you would lose your investment. Yet with prices as low as they are now, there isn't a high chance of that scenario unfolding.

For the vast majority of people, the stock market is not the place to make a quick buck. While some short term traders will have tremendous success with these option strategies, long term investors should use these same strategies while remaining focused on the longer term, to achieve gains vastly exceeding those of the regular stock market, while limiting risk. - 23211

About the Author:

Wanna hear more about this fantastic Stock Trading Strategy? Visit my website and find out all you need to know to become a market master. Know what sectors to invest in and when, and learn the Stock options strategys the big players use to make money in the markets.

Rollovers in Currency Markets

By Ahmad Hassam

Rollovers are transactions in currency trading where an open position from one value date or settlement date is rolled over to the next value date or settlement date. Rollovers are unique to the currency markets. Rollovers represent the intersection of interest rate markets and forex markets.

Keep this in mind what you are trading is in fact the good old cash. Currency is money after all. So when you talk of money, interest rates naturally come into play. Rollover rates depend on the difference between the interest rates of the two currencies in the pair that you are trading.

You should expect an interest gain/expense on holding a currency position over time. It is similar to earning interest on a bank deposit and paying interest on a loan. It is like having a deposit in a bank account when you are long on a currency. Its like take a loan from the bank if you are short.

Interest rate differential is the difference between the interest rates between the two currencies. You should think of the open currency position as one currency with the positive balance (the currency you are long) and one with negative balance (the currency you are short).

Because your accounts are in two different currencies, the interest rates of two different countries apply. You can find the interest rates of different countries from Wall Street Journal Online, Financial Times online or that matter any good financial website. You should look for the base or benchmark lending rates in each country.

If you hold an open position past the settlement date or value date, rollovers are usually carried out by your forex broker. The smaller the impact of the rollovers, the narrower the interest rate differential! The larger the impact from rollovers, the larger the interest rate differential!

Some online forex brokers apply the rollover rates by adjusting the average rate of your open position. Other forex brokers apply the rollover rates by applying the rollover credit or debit directly to your margin balance. Rollovers are applied to your open currency position by two offsetting trades that result in the same open position.

Day traders dont have to worry about rollovers. Rollovers do not apply for day traders who usually close their positions at the end of each trading day. Rollovers are not applied if you dont carry a position over the change in the value date. Rollovers only apply to your over night open position carried over to the next day. Rollovers are applied to open position after 5.00 PM EST change in value date.

If you are short the currency with the higher interest rate and long the currency with the low interest rates, rollovers will cost you money. If you are long the currency with the higher interest rate and short the currency with the lower interest rate, rollover can earn you interest income. - 23211

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is insterested in day trading stocks and currencies. Develop your own Forex Trading System. Learn Forex Trading !

Stock Charts 101

By Michael Swanson

A very popular type of day trading is called trending. The day traders know the secrets to trending and so can you. Just keep your eyes on the stock charts.

The stock charts show you exactly how a certain stock has been doing. If they stock prices have dropped or risen drastically, the charts will be a true reflection of this. The stock charts were created to aid the average stock market beginners in making wise investing decisions.

Making the right investments can mean the difference between being able to retire when you hit your retirement age or continuing to work well beyond retirement age. You money is very important and you should do what you can to protect it. The goal is to be able to live comfortably once you hit retirement.

Once you reach your retirement age you will have a decision to make. The decision will be made easier when you take a look at your financial position. If you have made bad decisions in your investing over the years, you may find yourself needing to work for a few more years before retiring.

Stock charts are available for almost every stock option. Be sure to consider a wide range of companies before deciding where to invest. By limiting yourself to one particular type of stock, you could be missing out on a great investment.

When you look at the stock charts for a particular company there is something to consider. While there are no definite in the stock market, if the company's charts have shown a slow but steady increase, it is a good sign that the growth will continue. This is also true if the stock is decreasing.

Even the day traders make bad calls occasionally. This is because there is no rhyme or reason in the way that we invest our money. You could decide to pass on a particular stock just to watch it explode over the next weeks. There is no way to tell for sure. That makes watching the stock charts that much more important. - 23211

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Forex Signals: Learning the Basics

By Bart Icles

One of the biggest buzzwords in the foreign exchange market is forex signals. If you are new to this trading market and not sure what a forex signals is, then you better start learning about it now. Having knowledge of the different forex signals can determine much about your success or failure in this trading arena. Do not allow yourself to become one of the forex investors who have been trading for a certain period of time but still do not have an idea of what they are actually doing because they have simply failed at learning the basics. And forex signals are part of these basics.

If you think you have already learned the forex basics, then you should be familiar with what forex signals are. If you are still not, forex signals are simply indicators of historical trends in the market. They are mainly based on a technical analysis of the different conditions of this volatile market. These trading signals do not only indicate the major trends in the market, they also help in determining various market entry and exit points.

Following newscasts, newspaper articles, and finance journals can give you much idea about the different forex trading signals. If you do not plan to spend hours and hours in front of the computer each day to keep you from missing on an economic indicator, you might as well subscribe to forex signal services. These are companies that monitor different indicators that are used in currency trading. The forex trading signals are then collected and included in a report that they send to their subscribers through email, fax or instant messages. There are also companies who do not only monitor signals for you, they can also act on these indicators and execute the actual trade for you.

Traders also make use of currency charts. Using a combination of technical analyses, these helpful bars, lines, and pips can give you various trading signals. They can tell you more about SMAs or simple moving averages that show the buy signals at times when prices of currencies reach their peaks above the actual average line. When you notice that prices are going under the average line, this signals the time for you to sell currencies.

There are many other kinds of forex signals. There are MACDs or moving average convergence divergence, DMIs or directional movement indicators, SARs or what most investors refer to as the parabolic system, and many others. The important thing is, you should learn to understand what these indicators really mean and how they affect market trading. - 23211

About the Author:

A forex tip are powerful when coupled with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning free forex takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.