Access To The Internet

A Brief about International Automobile Hiring February 25, 2010

Filed under: Great Travel Tips, Investing, Road Trippers @ 5:57 am

The number one thing you must seek to do if you can is to avail yourself of an international automobile hire company and put your name down for your vehicle before you leave for your travels.

This is only for the reason that you cannot be certain if you will get the manner of help (and attention) that you would obtain wherever you live, in this new location that you are travelling to.

A significant worldwide company would prepare the reservation for you, online or over the telephone, and you need to make sure that you carry a duplicate of the booking application with you; visibly displaying the business’ name, the make and model of the car that has been set aside for your use, the duration of the reservation as well as the price decided in both Pounds and the local currency.

As soon as you accept the car you should inspect it cautiously and should not say yes to the car unless it is in an agreeable condition. If there is any minor scratch to the car then ensure that this be noticed by the rental organization in written and that you maintain a copy of any specification report. Moreover, it is a nice idea to take the car around locally immediately after so that if it isn’t functioning right you could drive it straight back and get the setback sorted out. Having borrowed numerous cars over the years I can certify to the fact that it is not uncommon with smaller hire businesses in some exotic countries to uncover that the AC refuses to fucntion or one of the indicator bulbs is out.

Additionally, you should check to see exactly what your situation will be in the event of an accident or a mechanical problem.

Never take factors such as insurance lightly and never hesitate from shelling out some more money in order to get inclusive insurance safeguard. The very last thing you want is to get entangled in a worrying legal fight abroad as you weren’t sufficiently covered.

Mechanical failure can also be a massive nuisance if you mean to travel any noteworthy distance from the location where you’re put up, and specially if you propose to move out into the countryside. Enure you identify what should be done and who can be called in case the car does break down.

If you employ a trustworthy worldwide adviser to take care of your charter and keep to the measures outlined herein whilst choosing your car you should have a worry free time driving overseas.


Your Universal Real Property Space: Assisted by The Property Index November 10, 2008

Filed under: Investing @ 4:36 am

Even if Property Index is really a rather young agency, (they were established in March 2007), they were very swift to advance to expert status. In actuality they are a quite trouble-free agency exclusively focused on counseling every customer dedicated to let realty in most popular areas of the world. They pledge to offer you assistance to laser target dead-on what you are looking for fast plus, of course, painlessly.

Real property is being offered almost anywhere in the world these days, one of the swankiest areas being real estate you can purchase in Dubai. It should really be no big deal to write up the fabulous real estate available for sale in Dubai, one explanation for selecting property here being the houses and apartments you can purchase and the opportunity to live right amid this bouncing population. It is one of the most trendy regions these days, and considering the gorgeous landscape and agreeable weather surrounding you, how could you conceivably be wrong? Real property in Dubai is immersed in culture, art and history, this region is home to a good many indigenous civilizations.

Property Index have a range of properties for sale in Dubai, from villas to apartments.

About 30 years ago you would find just a small number of Englishmen keen on real estate in Dubai. Ask anyone who has chosen to move to Dubai and they are certain to back it up. Quite a few people would are wont to call it a fairly insignificant fashion and others are wont to call it a close to a fetish. Shoppers intent on repairing to this place may extend from young working couples keen on some new life perspective to retired people planning to enjoy their life. Note that there may be predicaments when purchasing real estate abroad — there’ll be hundreds of steps to cope with whether budgeting, inspecting or signing up. If you miss out on only a single step this is sure to escalate far-reaching predicaments as well as, preeminently, monetary loss.

Obviously, as is to be anticipated with this popular destination, real estate might well be fairly expensive in this region and that is simply a consequence of the peaking market demand. Nonetheless the homebuyer is spoilt for choice in a region full of golden environment and fun scenery. It can boast the whole lot a buyer could really fancy and more.


The Wonders and Horrors of Compounding September 24, 2008

Filed under: Investing @ 1:15 pm

Google Price Target: $16,578.90

Some of you will immediately recognize this headline is a joke. For the rest of you, I was kind of hoping the ninety cents part would give it away.

If you’re reading this because you’re interested in what I have to say about Google (GOOG), you can stop now. I’m not going to say anything interesting about Google. Rather, I’m going to say something (that I hope is) very interesting about the wonders of compounding.

Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders was released today; I’ll write a lot more about it tomorrow. For now, I’m just going to pull out one little nugget:

Between December 31, 1899 and December 31, 1999, to give a really long-term example, the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497 (Guess what annual growth rate is required to produce this result; the surprising answer is at the end of this section.)

I knew what Warren was up to, and had some idea of the historical growth rate for the Dow, so I guessed 6%.

Here’s the answer to the question posted at the beginning of this section: To get very specific the Dow increased from 65.73 to 11,497.12 in the 20th century, and that amounts to a gain of 5.3% compounded annually. (Investors would also have received dividends, of course). To achieve an equal rate of gain in the 21st century, the Dow will have to rise by December 31, 2099 to – brace yourself – precisely 2,011,011.23. But I’m willing to settle for 2,000,000; six years into this century, the Dow has gained not at all.

I wish I could tell you that my guess was close. But, it wasn’t even in the right ballpark. The difference between a 5.3% annual gain and a 6% annual gain may look relatively small. In fact, the difference is not small. If, during the 20th century, the Dow had achieved a gain of 6% compounded annually rather than a gain of 5.3% compounded annually, on the eve of Y2K, the index would have been sitting at 22,302.33.

The rallying cry of the bubble years would have been Dow 20,000. And what of Dow 10,000? The index would have added its fifth figure in 1987. That’s right, if the Dow had achieved a gain of 6% compounded annually during the 20th century, the index would have broken the 10,000 mark while the Berlin Wall was still standing.

Over a century, that extra 0.7% really adds up. I recently wrote an email to a member of my family who had just had her first child. You would think that blathering on as I do here each day, I would have a sea of investing advice to offer. In fact, I provided only a single drop: Time trumps money.

If you want to have more money than you will ever need, your best bet is to find a few places where you can deploy large sums of money that will earn good returns for a great many years, and will not require you to share any of the spoils with Uncle Sam until you are done accumulating said spoils. To do this, you will have to own a business either in part or in whole. I’m an investor, not an entrepreneur; so, let’s stick to the economics of becoming part owner of a business.

It’s time to discuss Google. I have a price target of $16,578.90 on Google. Does that sound reasonable? No. Well, I may have forgotten to mention this is a 50-year price target? So, does it sound reasonable now?

Don’t answer. First, we need to see what it would take for Google’s share price to reach $16,578.90. Last I checked, each share of Google had a book value of $31.87. Everyone says Google’s a great business. They may be right. But, I like all my surprises to be of the pleasant variety. So, I’m going to start by chucking the idea of Google being an extraordinary business. For now, let’s just call it average.

Who would want stock options in an average business? Let’s pretend no one would. Since there’s no downside, I think everyone would; but, let’s just ignore that inconvenient fact. We’re going to pretend Google won’t be diluting its shares at all. For the next fifty years, there will be no new shares and no stock splits.

As a public company, Google has earned an above average return on equity. It hasn’t been an earth shattering return on equity (it’s no Timberland), but it’s been better than most. Of course, with Google, you’re not paying up for the current return on equity – you’re paying up for all the ridiculously profitable growth to come. I’m willing to meet the Google bulls halfway on this one. I’ll give you growth, but no unusual profitability. You’re going to get a 12% return on equity, but there will be no limit to your growth. In my model, Google can literally conquer the world.

With something like $9 billion in equity to start with, a 12% return on equity, and the reinvestment of all earnings in the business, Google would get awfully big.

Don’t believe me? I know a 12% return on equity looks ridiculously low, but watch what happens. In 2056, Google will be a $312 billion company. Of course, the big question is: do I mean market cap or revenue?

I mean profits! At a P/E of 15, Google would have a market cap of $4.68 trillion. Yes, with a “t”. That same Google share that was quoted on Friday at $378.18 would be worth $16,578.90. Google’s EPS would be $1,105.26. You read that last part right. Each Google share would be earning three times its current (lofty) price.

So, what’s the catch? There are two problems with this scenario. One, in 2056, it’s more likely Britney Spears and Kevin Federline will be celebrating 50+ years of marital bliss together than it is that Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be celebrating 50+ years of 100% retained earnings at Google. For that matter, I’d say it’s more likely Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be celebrating 50 years of marital bliss together in 2056 – which is to say it isn’t very likely Google will be able to retain all of its earnings for the next half century (unless you know something about Larry and Sergey that I don’t).

The second problem is much less amusing. You see, if on Monday, you were to shell out the $378.18 for a share of Google, when the stock reached $16,578.90 in 2056, you’d be able to brag to Britney and K-Fed about your annual compound gain of…drum roll please…7.85%. And that’s before taxes and inflation.

Google would have a $4.68 trillion empire, and you’d have an annual return of 7.85% – how can that be?

Time turns molehills into mountains and mountains into molehills. In the very long-term, growth that only earns ordinary profits leads to stocks that only yield ordinary gains.

But, isn’t Google’s (lofty) price the problem? It’s part of the problem.

However, it’s probably a smaller part than you think. Right now, Google is trading at about twelve times book. What would your return be if you bought Google at book value? 13.32%. That’s a good return (fifty years from now, it’ll probably be considered a great return). Still, it’s somewhat unsatisfying. I mean, if you had the prescience to buy a $4.68 trillion behemoth when it was just a $10 billion company (remember, you’re paying book this time) all you’d get for your trouble is 13.32%.

Think of it this way. At $31.87 a share, 85% of your purchase price would be backed by cold, hard cash and you’d be buying a stock with a P/E of 6.3. A P/E of 6.3 is insanely cheap. So, why would buying a stock trading at a P/E of 6.3 and growing earnings per share at 11.4% a year for fifty years only yield a 13.32% return? Where are the insane gains?

Return on equity is the puppet master here. Take another look at the numbers. They’re doing something strange; they’re converging. Everything is getting closer and closer to 12%. Why? Because that’s your destiny. If you buy a business that earns 12% a year and you hold it long enough, guess where your returns are headed?

Here’s one last excerpt from Buffett’s letter. He’s writing about all businesses, but a long-term holding in a single business works in much the same way:

True, by buying and selling that is clever or lucky, investor A may take more than his share of the pie at the expense of investor B. And, yes, all investors feel richer when stocks soar. But an owner can exit only by having someone take his place. If one investor sells high, another must buy high. For owners as a whole, there is simply no magic – no shower of money from outer space – that will enable them to extract wealth from their companies beyond that created by the companies themselves.

It is now obvious I picked Google just to get your attention. Google may very well earn a return on equity much greater than 12% for the next fifty years. It has already earned “extraordinary profits”.

Even if it does grow at a phenomenal rate, it will, during the next half century, likely shed excess equity by paying dividends, buying back stock, or transforming itself into a holding company. I don’t see a way the company could possibly put more than $2.5 trillion in equity to good use in search and related businesses. In nominal terms, that’s well more than California’s GSP (Gross State Product). In 2006 dollars, it would still be something like $600 billion. Armies have been raised for less. So, if Google really does want to conquer the world, it could just try doing it the old fashioned way.

TEMPUS EDAX RERUM

Geoff Gannon writes a daily value investing blog and produces a twice weekly (half hour) value investing podcast at Gannon on Investing.


Learn To Protect Your Money September 23, 2008

Filed under: Investing @ 6:30 pm

I sometimes catch myself having an attitude when I make reference to the tech crash that began March 2000. For over a decade before the market presented us with the greatest bull market in history. In technical stocks the eighteen months preceding the March 2000 crash served up winner after winner. There were signs the market was overpriced two years before the crash. The people who got out too early experienced stress with all the potential profits they watched go by.

So if I give the impression that it was easy to recognize the bubble burst and exit, I apologize. I was there and I remember every day I thought there would be a bounce back also.

I think we could look to a far greater market enthusiast (and perhaps optimist) than I in the person of Bill O’Neil, publisher of Investors Business Daily. Bill is a master of school of growth stock opportunities. In his book, “How to Make Money in Stocks” he presents his approach to identify stocks that are poised to move up. He is not concerned about the advisors who are always looking to buy at a cheap price so they can sell at a higher price. He would argue, “Buy high and sell higher” is a better plan.

So when a stock completes all the criteria he has in his CANSLIM formula he will be looking to buy and ride it higher. So here is his wisdom that makes his approach full circle. If a stock has all the features of a stock that is going to soar to new heights yet declines in value 7 % he recommends selling your position. You do not have to wonder why. Just do it.

So if we all used his technique (I never let this concept out of my trading plan) we can hope to participate in the next great bull advance and still not bet the farm in the process.

For a FREE report on HOW TO TRADE FAST, enter your email address at:

http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs?customerid=12826


Cheap Property in Bulgaria- Information and Top Tips September 19, 2008

Filed under: Investing @ 7:48 pm

Whether you’re looking for a cheap property in Bulgaria for your next family home, or for a place for vacation during your time off, you’ll want to make sure you know how to get the most affordable property for your money.

Here are a couple of tips and suggestions to make sure that you’re searching properly for cheap property in Bulgaria, and that you find a home that you can be completely satisfied with.

Bulgarian property is among the cheapest to buy in Europe, and is ideal for living because of the rich culture of the people, and the history of the area. And, since the cost of living is so low, you can find property there that is of good quality fairly easily.

Many people choose to buy older homes in Bulgaria, and then renovate them, so that the houses will be worth more should the owner decide to sell. An older home in Bulgaria generally costs around 20,000 pounds (which is extremely affordable for the average ‘middle-class- Bulgarian), and there are even a few new developments in Bulgaria that are considered beachfront property. These new homes are still affordable, and many Europeans are taking advantage of the great views the properties offer, as well as the fact that most of these homes are in or close to beautiful villages, historic towns, and resort areas.

If you’re thinking of purchasing cheap property in Bulgaria, do your homework first.

On the left navbar you will find links to the best areas to invest and have a basic understanding of the Bulgarian property market.


The Truth about Stock Options and Options On Futures Trading

Filed under: Investing @ 3:25 am

Let’s look at the basic facts about options trading before we go any further. Like any human endeavor, options trading is best described in very careful language so that there’s no confusion about our meaning. First, let’s take a look at exactly what an “option” is. An option refers to just that, the option to purchase certain stocks or certain commodity items by a certain date. This means you do not gain controlling interest in the stock or commodity until that date. For this reason, options can, and often do, expire worthless. There are two types of options contracts:

1) Contracts to buy blocks of stocks by a certain date 2) Commodity futures which are options to buy blocks of hard goods by a certain date

If you have options on 10,000 bushels of corn, whoever sold it to you cannot sell it to someone else until the expiration date of your contract has expired. In exchange for giving you this right, they wrote the contract and took money from you. If you don’t exercise your options prior to the expiration date, they will expect full control of their corn again, and will sell it someone else. What makes options such fascinating instruments are these facts:

1) With options you can sell that which you don’t own or ever plan on buying 2) You can buy something you don’t ever plan on physically holding and sell it for a profit

Another great thing about options is their inherent flexibility: although you have the right to buy or sell a certain stock or commodity, the choice is yours. You’re not forced to exercise your options. You can always sell your options contract to someone else. Many traders of commodities and options always sell the contracts only and have never taken physical possession of any underlying asset they’ve ever traded. The leverage in options gives you a chance to earn extremely high returns. These types of options we’re describing are referred to as covered options. With covered options you actually plan on or do own the underlying asset that you purchase options contracts for. Uncovered options are the exact opposite. Like the word uncovered means exposed, uncovered or naked options are considered more dangerous, because you are merely speculating without having an ownership interest. You are exposed to the risk without the benefit of owning the asset.

Options trading involves a great deal of leverage in the form of margin loans to your trading account. All options trades are highly leveraged, so you need to add margin interest to your calculated costs when considering a career in trading options. Pricing and potential returns on options trading depend very much on real world circumstances. If you purchase corn futures, for instance, there are literally hundreds of variables that affect the price of the corn, and hence your investment. If a corn shortage is expected in a certain part of the world, your investment might hit big because the price of corn could rise dramatically. On the contrary, perhaps government subsidies have introduced a glut of corn into the world market. In that case, your investment might tumble. Futures contracts for commodities and options contracts on stocks are strictly based on guessing what events will happen in the future. Of course you’ll always attempt to make as accurate as a guess as possible, but let’s face facts: in this world unforeseen things can and do happen. For this reason, protect your downside, and only invest with money you can afford to lose. Options trading can be very profitable, but unsurpisingly it’s also very risky.