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  • Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold

    by Gorica Gligorijevic

    Microsoft stock has increased this year which is the great news for investors. It is the most valuable company in the US, which the sparrows on the trees already know. The question is should you buy its stocks? If you want you should hurry. This year it is up 36%. But, more important, Cowen & Co. analyst Nick Yako initiated coverage of Microsoft with an outperform rating and $150 target price. 

    He recognizes the potential for Microsoft to gain a gradually increasing $100 billion in revenue by fiscal 2025. His prediction is based on Microsoft’s Office 365 and Azure cloud businesses. Yako is expecting those two to be the main growth generators. 

    Moreover, traders support Cowen’s opinion on Microsoft. Last week on Thursday, it scored a new all-time intraday high of $139.22.

    Microsoft stocks will grow more

    Microsoft stocks will grow more

    Not only Nick Yako is convinced that Microsoft stocks will grow. There are other experts too. For example, Pete Najarian from Institute.com truly believes that the great potential for this company comes from its Windows. 

    “By the way, we all want to say Windows is dead. Windows is not dead. That continues to grow as well,” he said.

    The co-founder of Najarian Family Office, Jon Najarian, also recognizes Microsoft as a great potential for growth. But he thinks that it is all about LinkedIn.

    “It’s all about LinkedIn for my mind and for my money from here, rather than just focusing completely on the cloud.” 

    Microsoft bought the LinkedIn 3 years ago for $27 billion. This social network has about 610 million subscribers and its participation in the company’s revenue is more than 5%.

    Pete and Jon Najarian are traders.

    Pete Najarian is an options trader and market analyst. He is also the founder of optionMONSTER. This company provides market news and trading strategies.

    Jon Najarian is the founder of an online brokerage, tradeMONSTER. This brokerage provides trading information through the web without demanding clients to download trading software. It is a rival with other brokerage companies.

    Despite this optimism shown, they have some concerns.

    Microsoft’s P/E is high which can be “a signal that the stock is getting ahead of itself.” Pete Najarian still holds it’s stock and call options. But he is keeping an eye on the rising valuation.

    Microsoft’s share of the market went up to 13% from 10%. But Amazon continues to be the obvious leader with 33%.

    Hence, Najarian alerted in his comment for CNBC, “Microsoft is a deep distant second. But if they can claw some of that market share back, then absolutely, I think this stock can go higher.”

    Bottom line

    The Microsoft stocks hit the $1 trillion level in market capitalization in June. So, we can say that this company stays along with Apple and Amazon.

    This pre-internet pioneer of the PC era, Its operating systems, and software are used by computers all over the world. It owns LinkedIn, Skype and GitHub.  There are it’s Windows, which is developing, and the Xbox gaming, and also Office 365 businesses. Microsoft is a leader in cloud-computing services, artificial intelligence, and productivity tools. It is a true rival to  Amazon and Alphabet’s Google. So, we can say Microsoft stocks are worth to buy and hold.

    Microsoft stock has increased by almost 37% until July 11this year. It went ahead of the Nasdaq and doubled the year-to-date earnings for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials.

    Microsoft stocks revealed a reasonable buy spot. Its stock has great long-term growth potential. 

    Generating growth possibilities in the highly competing tech area needs proactive management. Microsoft has it. Its CEO Satya Nadella has succeeded to shift to a business model that focuses on subscription-based products and services with constantly recurring revenue.

    The shareholders received a 1,5% dividend yield.

    And shareholders in this elite business, who also enjoy a 1.5%  Microsoft has a firm cash flow, which is a definite part to consider for dividend investors.

  • Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announced the bond issue

    Greece announces bond issue under the new government. According to the Associated Press, the new government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mistotakis plans to issue of a 7-year bond. It will be the first under the new government.   

    In a report published Monday, 15. July, Public Debt Management Agency of Greece listed banks on the control of running the auction. PDMA reports are usually presented on the eve of the auction.

    Greece is deemed to establish a 2.5 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) goal for its latest bond issue. That should complete market borrowing requirements for this year.

    The previous bond auctions were successful. The government under Syriza and ex-prime minister Alexis Tsipras issued 5-year and 10-year bonds.

    Greece rose funds on bond markets after a series of three consecutive international bailout programs.

    Low yields in EU countries were helpful.

    The new prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has chaired his Cabinet’s first meeting. He promised to reform the system of governance. The main goal is to improve the everyday lives of Greeks, he said. Also, he urged the other members of the new government to follow this intention.

    Greece’s conservative New Democracy party won the national election on July 7, 2019. This party defeated the ruling Syriza party.

    New Democracy returned to power with decent success in snap elections. Prime Minister-elect Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he had a definite mandate for change, promising more investments. Also, he promised to decrease taxes.

    “I am committed to fewer taxes, many investments, for good and new jobs, and growth which will bring better salaries and higher pensions in an efficient state,” Mitsotakis said.

    Greece had a positive result after analysis by its EU partners who loaned Greece billions.

    The economic matters in Greece

    Greece announced the bond issue

    The focus is on Mitsotakis’s choice for the key economics ministries – finance, energy, and development. The minister of Foreign affairs come along with them. 

    Mitsotakis inherits an economy that is growing at a moderate growth. It is at a 1.3% annual pace in the first quarter of this year.

    The public finances may fall below the targets accepted with lenders.

    The Bank of Greece predicts that 3.5% of GDP primary surplus target without debt servicing outlays is possible to be missed this year. Its prediction is that Greece can reach 2.9% of economic output reasonably.

    The fiscal policy of the new government has to be rigorously watched.

    But, the true test will be next year’s budget.

    People in Greece live on the financial edge.

    The young people are leaving the country in order to find jobs outside their country, in the EU.

    Greek unemployment of 18% is the highest in the EU.

    Greece remains under monitoring from lenders guarantee to avoid potential future fiscal slippage. 

    The economic growth has returned since Greece wrapped up its last economic adjustment program in 2018.

    New Democracy has promised to create well-paid jobs. Honestly, they will have a hard job to answer the activities in some parts of Athens, where powerful anti-establishment movement is alive.

    Living in Greece is difficult

    The average monthly salary in Greece is about 600 euros. People, especially the young, are struggling to find decent jobs because of the absence of big international companies.

    The expense of living in Greece is relatively lower than in the rest of Europe. But despite romantic expectations, it is difficult and struggling.

    The per capita income is 18,613.42. That is almost 1/5 of Switzerland’s, for example. Yes, goods are cheaper there than in the rest of Europe. But the average salary isn’t enough so the people are hard to survive from pay-check to pay-check.

    The new government has a great challenge.

     

  • Bitcoin Price Falls Under $10,100

    Bitcoin Price Falls Under $10,100

    2 min read

    Bitcoin Price Falls

    Bitcoin price dropped $1.4K in 24 hours and hit a 2-week low. Majority of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are recording losses on the day we are posting. Bitcoin (BTC) fell under the $10,100 mark.

    Monday seems not to be a good day for cryptocurrencies.

    Take a look at its weekly chart, the coin is dropped by 10.14%.

    Some traders are awaiting the price to fall under $10,000. They say it will be time to buy.

    Bitcoin price

    Since June 27, the bitcoin price has fallen from almost $14,000 by more than 22%against the U.S. dollar in an almost large pullback. That led to the crypto market to fall. All major cryptocurrencies recorded a decrease in value.

    Yes, this is a drop-in price, but the bitcoin price grows more than 210% in comparison with its value last year. The other main cryptos tend to be more volatile. The exceptions are Litecoin and Binance Coin.

    A possible scenario: bitcoin price falls below $10,000

    The bitcoin price has moved from $4,000 to almost $14,000 in a time frame of four months. So, the huge reversals from the current price continue to be a possibility.

    The bitcoin price slips to recover behind $10,000, a pullback to the $9,000 zone is possible.

    Say, the trend of bitcoin is bullish. There are some important factors to study that could work as incentives in the next few months. For example, the block reward halving of bitcoin.

    Also, after US President Donald Trump recent comments bitcoin, it’s price recorded a small increase, but now we have this drop.

    It is about $1,000 less than where it was 24 hours ago. 

    The US President identified currencies like Facebook Libra as untrustworthy. He also said that it carries no value and that it doesn’t hold on a firm platform. He also said that he doesn’t care for cryptocurrencies and that they usually pull illegal action and that the cryptocurrencies are not real money.


    Do Trump’s words have any influence on Bitcoin price?

    We don’t think so. After Trump’s comments, the next few days bitcoin has maintained its position despite his words. But, despite the first expectations to rise more and more, the price falls quickly and drastically. The coin has scored its lowest rate since June.

    But the bitcoin price is higher than in April. Given it has retained its force, it is reasonable to expect price spikes in the following days.

    Since the bitcoin price fell around 10%, many alternative crypto assets like Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, fell by 4 to 9% against the U.S. dollar.

    Bitcoin is down by around 43% from its highest price at about $20,000. The alternative crypto assets are down too, some by 80%, the other even to 90% from their greatest highs.

    Three months ago trader and cryptanalyst Josh Ranger recommended that the Bitcoin accumulation phase will last until mid-July 2019. And then there will be a steady price increase.

    According to the historical overview, the current price dynamics is alike to that seen in 2015. After Bitcoin hit the bottom, the growth period lasted 216 days. 

    This price drop is good for those who would like to buy Bitcoin. 

    According to CoinMarketCap data, the move down was also followed by a small rise in total trading volume of $2.8 billion over 24 hours. The traders wanted to gain profit and quick exit the markets because of declining prices.

    Moreover, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies experienced a $20.1 billion loss for 24 hours. It is one of the biggest losses in one day. The same happened on June 27, 2019.

    In the short term, volatile will continue. 

    Sebastian Sinclair in his recent article for Coindesk wrote:

    “…so BTC could experience a bounce on today’s momentum, but that will need to be accompanied by strong levels in growing (bullish) volume in order to end the recent sell-off still being felt from July 10.”

     

  • Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    2 min read

    Tesla Shares are Rising on the New Plans

    Tesla shares are rising. After Tesla (TSLA) reported a  record second-quarter car delivers, Jerome Guillen, its automotive president, announced the firm has a plan to make a big jump in production of electric cars. They are opening new hirings. 

    Bloomberg revealed Guillen’s email to employees: “The electric-car maker is “making preparations” to raise output at its factory in Fremont, California, Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s automotive president, wrote Tuesday. “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments.”

    “As we continue to ramp up production, please tell your friends and neighbors that we have lots of exciting new positions open, both in Fremont and at Giga,” Guillen wrote in the email to employees.

    According to Guillen’s email, the previous problems with Tesla cars are fixed. In this email, he wrote the Tesla:  “hit new records in all production lines for output and efficiency,” and added that “quality is also reaching record highs.”

    In the first six months of this year, Tesla sold more than 67,500 new Model 3 in the US market. Tesla’s rivals sold at the same time from 3,500 to 8,500 units of their hybrids. 

    This new email can be a terrifying moment for them.

    As a consequence, Tesla shares are rising on that Guillen’s report that it will boost production.

    In the last trading day, Friday,  last week Tesla’s shares rose to $245,06 from Thursday’s close of $238,60 a share.

    Tesla shares are rising

    But nothing is so easy with Tesla.

    Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. both assume they were betrayed by an engineer who defected to the same Chinese startup. They both accused an engineer who operated on its Autopilot program of taking the extremely secret files when he quit and start to work for.

    XMotors.ai is the U.S. research unit of Guangzhou-based Xpeng.

    A few days ago, Tesla asked for Apple’s cooperation in a prosecute. Tesla sued the mentioned engineer.

    The lawsuit is filed to a court last week.

    Tesla requires insight into the engineer’s emails and forensic examination on his electronic devices. The company revealed that it has also assisted the iPhone maker with a subpoena.

    The documents Tesla asks from Apple aren’t specified in the filing, it is obvious that they have a mutual opponent in Xpeng.

    Last July, one of Apple’s hardware engineers was prosecuted for similar reasons, he shifted to work for this Chinese company and took the secret data with him. The engineer has declared not guilty.

    Guangzhi Cao, the former Tesla engineer, confirmed in a court filing that he downloaded Tesla’s Autopilot-related source code to his private iCloud account, but rejected wrongdoing.

    Elon Musk’s automaker overcame Wall Street expectations. Tesla is expected to report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 7.

    “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments,” Guillen said.

    Tesla Motors increased 2.72% in the last trading day, Friday, 12th Jul 2019. The share price rose from $238.60 to $245.08. 

    Moreover, the share price increased at 9.98% in the last 2 weeks. 

    Along with the price, the volume has grown too. In total, 1.62 million more shares were traded in comparison wit the day before.

    This exactly means, 9.08 million shares were traded for almost $2 224.42 million.

    The bottom line

    Tesla shares are rising and Traders-Paradise opinion about Tesla as an investment is positive. Yes, we know, Tesla had some problems.

    If you are seeing the stocks with a solid return, Tesla can be a valuable investment choice.  Based on their plans we anticipate a long-term gain. For five year investment, your return can be almost 13%, meaning if you invest $100 now, after 5 years your investment will be about $113 worth.

    Billionaire investor Ron Baron predicted that Tesla’s stock will touch $1,000 by 2020. 

    This means that Tesla’s stock could be traded between $500 and $600 next year. This indicates that there is an upside potential of at least 35%.

    As we wrote about a month ago Tesla shares drop but it could a 50% grow within a month

  • Bitcoin price, Trump or How Do You Understand All of This

    Bitcoin price, Trump or How Do You Understand All of This

    3 min read

    Bitcoin price

    Bitcoin has been growing of the new week after a drowsy weekend. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve revealed the chance of Bitcoin becoming the globally dominant currency. Hence, the current reserve assets could be worthless, admitted Fed.

    Let’s see first how Bitcoin performed in the past days. The Bitcoin price showed bullish signs this past week. But why now seems all of that real energy has vanished once again. What can we expect in the following days?

    Take the quiz at the end!!!

    Bitcoin made a drastic turnaround from where it was six months ago. At that time the prices pined around $3,500. But enthusiasm over broader mainstream approval has increased the hum about cryptocurrencies. The result was: the prices have the flight.

    John McAfee made a bet on July 17th, 2017: One single Bitcoin would be worth $ 500,000.00 in three years. Later he made some corrections and foretold $ 1 million by the end of 2020.

    Is that prediction really reasonable?

    Bitcoin price is about $11,300. To gain $1 million by the end of 2020, BTC should have a permanent-growth rate of almost $ 0,5 per day starting from the price level $2, 250 how much it was in 2017. on McAfee’s date of prediction.

    Yes, Bitcoin price so often changes the value so the 0,5% doesn’t sound too much. The charm of exponential increase.

    Bitcoin is limited. There is 21 Million BTC. Period. You see, we have more millionaires on this planet. There are not enough Bitcoins for each of them.

    The principle of how Bitcoin rise is simple.

    The more people are buying it, the price is higher.

    The market capitalization of bitcoin is still small. Of course, if we make a comparison to the stock market or gold for example.

    There is no need to buy one Bitcoin as a whole. You can buy a part of a bitcoin, so-called bits. And what will happen? The more people are buying, the price will grow more.

    There is no need to buy one Bitcoin as a whole.

    You can buy a part of a bitcoin, so-called bits. And what will happen? The more people are buying, the price will grow more. Moreover,  the popular fiat banking system is too complicated and you will find that bitcoin is a lot more practical. The price will jump again.

    Bitcoin against the politicians

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he’s “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies. Moreover, he recommended that Facebook may need a banking license if the company wants to launch Libra. Sic!

    May any president have an influence on crypto?

    Well, Bitcoin doesn’t care about their opinions.

    Anyway, Mr. Trump tweeted:

    The bitcoin price rose after Trump said he is not a fan of it.

    Take the quiz at the end of the post!!!

    … and about Facebook’s Libra

    In the past 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin rose 7,9%.

    The other cryptocurrencies recorded even higher increases. Ethereum rose nearly 8% and Monero more than 13%.

    And BTC against the dollar marked changes that should cause the upsets. According to CoinDesk: it touched an unusual of $12,033.74 and a low of $11,142.79. Who won’t be worried?

    Bitcoin did not respect Trump’s anti-crypto comments.

    We saw the last trading! After Trump’s tweets, the BTC price was higher for 1% in one day, the price was $11,447.

    Even more, crypto doesn’t care about the Fed’s opinion. 

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell talked largely about Facebook’s Libra

    Powell accented that before proceeding, Facebook needs to address “serious concerns” in regards to “privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, and financial stability.”

    Same old words!

    The bottom line

    What we can say about the future of Bitcoin price is that there are some chances to drop below $11,000. The crypto market is well-known as volatile. But it can rise to $16,000 also to the end of July.

    This old guy is smarter than we think and no one should underestimate a possibility to surprise us. Moreover, many traders expect exactly that. The price to go up.

     

     

  • Getting a Personal Loan

    Getting a Personal Loan

    Getting a Personal Loan
    How is possible to get a personal loan even with a bad credit score

    By Guy Avtalyon

    A personal loan is a good choice if you need funds for a particular purpose. But you have to consider many factors when deciding the variety of loan that suits you. You can use a personal loan to decrease debt, repay unpredictable payments, make home repairs, and more.

    How to get a personal loan?

    Personal loans allow low-interest rates for people with good credit. They are usually smaller loan products than other kinds of loans. We have to say, they aren’t undoubtedly the best choice for everyone.

    Before getting a personal loan, you have to consider several important things.

    The first thing you are asking yourself is: How much money can you get?

    Well, loan sum varies from lender to lender.  Usually, you can expect between $1,500 and $100,000.  That depends on your creditworthiness. This means that the lender will estimate your ability to pay them back before they decide to lend you money.

    How does a personal loan work?

    You will get a fixed sum and have to pay it back with interest in monthly parts until you pay back the whole amount.

    That can be after 12 to 84 months. After you pay back all, your account will be closed and you, if there is a need, can apply for the new one.

    Nevertheless, before you apply for any loan it’s crucial to consider why you require the money. Depending on that, you may choose the variety of loan that’s most suitable for your financial situation.

    What are the types of personal loans?

    You see, there are two types of personal loans: secured and unsecured.

    Unsecured loans are not backed by collateral which means that the bank determines are you qualified to get the loan. The lender will estimate your financial history. If you don’t pass for some unsecured loan maybe you’ll find the lenders who want to offer secured options.

    Secured loans are backed by collateral. Collateral is a savings account or CD. Why this is called a secured loan? Because if you are not able to pay on time, the lender can require your asset as payment for the loan. Your asset, a savings account or CD is the guarantee that the lender will get its payment.

    Where you can get a personal loan

    In the first place, it is a bank. But you must know they are not the only place where you can get a personal loan. There are other lenders too. For example, online lenders, consumer finance companies, or credit unions are places where you can acquire a loan.

    The one thing is important, you have to be qualified applicants.

    Also, you can take a risk and contact some online lenders. There are plenty of them. But you must be careful. It’s true you can get a personal loan very quickly from them. But some of them are not legit and often they are scammers. Check them first. 

    As we said previously, personal loans can give the money you need, but they are not, at the same time, the best choice for everyone. Sometimes, a credit card could be a better alternative.

    But be careful with this too. If you take a balance transfer card and you are not able to pay off your balance, you may catch an enormous amount in interest charges.

    For homeowners, there is a home equity loan. This kind of loan will give the aid you need. Usually,  it is a larger loan sum at low rates. You should be aware, you are giving your house as collateral for these kinds of loans. If you fail to pay, your lender has the right to use your house as payment for debt for the loan.

    How personal loan may impact the credit score?

    When you demand a loan, the lender will count your credit as an element of the application process. This is recognized as a hard inquiry. It will regularly reduce your credit scores by a few points.

    On the other hand, the lenders that you previously had an account with will just review your credit. This is identified as a soft inquiry and will not affect your credit score.

    It is obvious where to ask as first.

    Interest rates and fees

    Interest rates and fees can create a big distinction in how much you will pay to the end. Here are several circumstances to consider.

    Interest rates typically vary from around 5% to 36%. That depends on the lender and your credit. Meaning, if you have good credit, the interest rate will be lower. But, you will pay more interest if your loan is long-term

    Some lenders will charge you a fee to cover the expense of processing the loan. That is origination fees. It can be from 1% to 6% of the loan sum depending on lenders’ rules.

    Some lenders will charge you a fee if you pay off your loan early. What? Yes, if you pay off early the lenders will lose the full interest that they would have earned in established agreement.

    You have to know all of this or you must be informed by your lender about all the circumstances before signing anything.

    A personal loan may be a good solution when you need extra money for a particular intent. But there are many circumstances to consider. You have to decide what sort of credit is best for your condition.

    You must feel comfortable.  Also, you must find the payments like the one you can afford and not feel captured. Measure twice, cut once.

     

  • What Do You Need to Know About Prepaid Cards?

    What Do You Need to Know About Prepaid Cards?

    What do you need to know about prepaid cards?
    A prepaid card works like a debit card, but without risks and the bank account

    By Guy Avtalyon

    Prepaid cards are similar to debit cards. This means, prepaid cards seem like credit cards and use as credit cards. But the main difference is there’s no credit behind. When using the prepaid cards you are spending your own money, banks will not grant you to spend their money. So, in essence, they are debit cards.

    However, there is one difference. It isn’t needed to have a bank account to have a prepaid card. All you have to do is to download a certain amount of money straight onto the card. And you can use your prepaid card for purchasing and payments.

    When the balance on the card drops low, you have to reload more money.

    You can use your prepaid card everywhere, just like any card. You can pay bills, buy in the shops. 

    The fees retailers pay to receive prepaid cards are lower than for credit cards, you will often find, for example, the shops that are receiving the prepaid cards rather than credit cards.

    Prepaid cards are a good option instead of credit cards.

    Moreover, prepaid cards allow the comfort of shopping without the troubles of administering with a bank. You may deposit your paycheck direct onto your prepaid card.

    They were basically invented for people with bad or non-exciting credit history. This kind of card is a great choice for people with credit problems. The other advantage for all of you, who are not sure how should you spend your money, is that the prepaid card expires when the preloaded money runs out.

    It is a very helpful first card for youngsters or for someone who is recovering from debt.

    There is no credit check, hence, it will not help you develop credit. The outgo on prepaid cards is not traced by credit bureaus.

    Seek for characteristics that satisfy your needs.

    Amazing, prepaid cards allow you to pay bills online by setting up automated monthly payments. Some will allow you to withdraw money from an ATM.

    To manage your account online, you can use some app available for desktop or even mobile. 

    “Seventy percent of general prepaid card users use mobile to check balances and transaction history and receive text alerts,” said Bill McCracken, CEO of Synergistics. “So mobile capability in a prepaid card is very important.”

    Opportunities to put more money on your card are growing.

    You can transfer money from your bank account if you have one.
    Your company can deposit your paycheck directly onto your prepaid card.
    Money transfer from a PayPal account, for example, is so easy.
    If the balance on your prepaid card is too low you can reload by using a reload card.

    Moreover, as we mentioned before, there is no need to pay interest on a prepaid card. On the other hand, with a credit card, you have to pay. Instead, you will pay fees. 

    Prepaid cards require fees from setup to reloading. The good thing is that you can limit fees. How? Just keep a minimum balance or arrange a direct deposit.

    Prepaid cards can assist you to control your money if you employ it as a budgeting tool. For example, you can load the weekly budget for shopping onto your prepaid card. When you spend all amount, your spending will be stopped immediately. Well, unless you load more money. Anyway, it will help you manage your spending by limiting costs and risks.

    And, you’re protected. “While prepaid cards were developed by entrepreneurs as an alternative to banking, the funds in these accounts are almost always held by a bank or credit union and enjoy federal deposit insurance,” Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB. 

    Moreover, if you notify the loss or stealing of your registered card, most of the issuer will restore your balance and give you a new card. Let’s say, a prepaid card operates like a debit card, but without risks and the bank account.

    Prepaid cards are good for people with bad credit. Especially when they are not accepted for a credit card. You can use a prepaid card as a method of building positive credit. If you make small payments frequently and pay them off every month, you’ll be able to show that you are financially stable. After some time this secured account can be changed to an unsecured one.

     

  • Christine Lagarde as an EBC head: Good or bad for cryptocurrencies future?

    Christine Lagarde as an EBC head: Good or bad for cryptocurrencies future?

    2 min read

    Christine Lagarde

    Christine Lagarde, a new ECB head is remarkably pro-crypto. 

    Investors and advocates of Bitcoin and the crypto markets have long held that the zenith of adoption the crypto would come when authorities and central banks started becoming friendly towards the new technologies.

    The new head of the European Central Bank (ECB)  Christine Lagarde is pro-crypto. Can it be good or bad for cryptocurrencies?

    Previously, she has shown a huge interest in crypto and how the new tech can help develop tomorrow’s overall economy.

    Will this help to promote acceptance of cryptocurrencies?

    Christine Lagarde has promoted for state-backed digital currencies.

    She said it could improve the capability of such state’s economy.

    “I believe we should consider the possibility to issue digital currency. There may be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy,” she told at the Singapore Fintech Festival Nov. 14.

    If done correctly, central bank-issued digital currencies could “could satisfy public policy goals,” she noticed, specifically “financial inclusion,” “security and consumer protection,” and “privacy in payments.”

    During the speech in Singapore, Lagarde meantime persisted on the “downsides” of CBDCs, too

    “I would also like to highlight the risks of stifling innovation — the last thing you want. My main point will be that we should face these risks creatively.”

    We must be honest, the new ECB boss is more open to centralized crypto selections than to decentralized ones, like Bitcoin. She has supported already for state-backed cryptocurrencies and tokens like XRP and JPM coin. Maybe, she just needs more encouragement. We will see. It isn’t possible for any traditional bank to support the crypto, but to embrace its existence and allow using in transactions would be very useful, both for the bankers and crypto-owners.

    Lagarde supports

    Last year, in February, Lagarde in an interview for CNNMoney said that “the trend showed a “herd mentality” of those looking for high yield products as well as an element of speculation.”

    Lagarde continued that this trend was also fired by “dark activity.” That was explained by the potential for cryptocurrencies to be “used for money laundering and other illegal online activities due to their anonymous nature.”

    We can’t argue with this opinion because it is true. But, also, the regulation would be helpful. The difficult part, someone can think, is how to provide for crypto to remain anonymous and regulated. Well, it isn’t too hard. The hard part is how to avoid dark activity. Fiat showed less capability.

    Lagarde has said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could develop financial markets. She especially pointed to the speed and security of transactions. 

    We are sure that Lagarde’s main interest will not be the adoption of cryptocurrencies. She will have some bigger difficulties in the EU monetary system and economy. But, also, we have to notice that Lagarde is opened toward new technologies such as blockchain and it is very good. It can be promising for the crypto in the future. Christine Lagarde on the head of the ECB can have a very positive influence on the crypto industry and market in whole. 

    For now, for those of us who truly believe that the future for cryptos is coming, it is good news that Christine Lagarde’s opinions about Bitcoin are positive. 

  • How Long It Takes to Have Enough to Buy a Home

    How Long It Takes to Have Enough to Buy a Home

    4 min read

    How Long It Takes to Have Enough to Buy a Home

    To have enough to buy a home is everyone’s dream. This is a tricky time for millennials who want to buy a home. Some research, for example in Canada, shows that young people need between 13 to 29 years to purchase their first home. That’s too much. 

    While millennials over the world are striving to get on the property, about 70% of Chinese millennials reached the milestone. 

    Mexico is the next with 46% of millennials homeowners, the following is France with 41%.

    For the majority of millennials, owning house persist too expensive and they can’t save enough for a deposit. Property prices have increased in the last several years and the rise in salary did not follow this

    Almost 2/3 of millennials declared they would need higher incomes to buy a home. 

    According to Forbes, China has seven of the world’s 10 most expensive cities for buying such a property.

    So how have so many millennials in China have enough to buy a home?

    There are no secrets. For most of them, a parent’s help was crucial. Also, they have some benefits for married couples. For sons in China, parents will do almost everything to help them get married.

    Thanks to the One-Child Policy, next year will be 30 million men more than women who are looking for marriage partners. Parents in China want to improve the chances for their sons and support them financially to have enough to buy a home. Speaking about, gender equality. But it isn’t the subject of this article.

    We want to show you how to ensure your deposit in order to buy a house, to have enough to buy a home.

    There are some other ways to get on the property on your own.

    Let us ask you something.

    1) Are you able to save each year?

    2) When you save, where you put your money?

    The message of the following story is: start saving early and try to save often. We want to show you the influence of compounding.

    Let’s estimate how long it will take you to become a millionaire. Yes, why not?

    We will start with the Rule of 1.5, likewise recognized as Felix’s Corollary. 

    This rule says that for a flow of investments where the number of years times the interest equals 72, the final value will equal approximately 1.5 times the amount invested. 

    Say, investing $10,000 per year for 8 years at 9% interest.

    8 x 9 = 72 

    The value of the investments at the end of year 8 will be about $120,000.

    Or make it simpler

    $10,000 x 8 x 1.5 = $120,000

    It’s so far from being a millionaire but…

    We will use Felix’s Corollary again. All we need to do is decide how long it will take you to save $720,000 at a contracted interest rate. 

    To explain why $720,000. Because $720,000 times 1.5 equals $1,080,000. This describes why we didn’t use $1,000,000. 

    This is easier than it looks, you will see.

    Say, with a saving of $90,000 per year you will need 8 years to acquire $720,000. 

    And at 9% annual interest, you would save $1,080,000 over 8 years. Of course, most of you don’t have $90,000 per year to put on savings. 

    That’s why most of us are not able to collect a million dollars in 8 years. 

    So let’s expand it to 16 years. 

    Now, what do we lack to be a millionaire? Again implementing a 9% rate of return? Yes! Here is where the rule 72 again in the scene. Using the Rule of 72, we know that whatever we have saved over the first 8 years will double over the next 8 years because 72 divided by our interest rate of 9% equals 8.

    So we can break the 16 year savings period into 3 equal portions: 

    1) the amount we save over the first 8 years; 

    2) the doubling of this amount over the next 8 years; 

    3) the amount we save the second 8 years. 

    And here it is: $720,000 divided by 3 equals $240,000. That is the amount we need to save each of the two 8 year periods. That is $30,000 per year if my math is good. And it is, so you just follow the rest of this. That means $2,500 per month, which is a reasonable saving for some people.

    But you want to determine what it will take to be a millionaire in 24 years. All you have to do is just divide $720,000 by 7 and then again by 8. 

    So, $720,000 divided by 8 equals 90,000 divided by 7 equals about $12,800. Right? Hence, investing just a bit over $1,000 per month at 9% interest during 24 years period will make you a millionaire.

    Invest in stocks with little money to have enough to buy a home

    But, how to know when to get in a position in investing?

    Investing takes time to grow. It requires a relatively moderate risk and moderate returns in the short run. But investing may produce bigger returns by placing both, interests and dividends to hold for a longer period of time. So, you are taking a long position while investing. 

    You would like to hold your stock for several years and have a decent return. In most circumstances, you should take the profit when a stock grows 20% to 25% of the buy price.

    When to get out in the investment

    The general rule of investing is never getting out of your investment just because the stock price is dropping. The rule “buy high/sell low” isn’t valuable while investing. Otherwise, you will never earn money in the stock market.

    A selling an investment too quickly can hurt your portfolio.

    Have Enough to Buy a Home

    Can you “ensure” some positions?

    All beginners, no matter how smart they are, have illusions, so they have losses. You have to keep your losses small, don’t let them scare you and survive.

    The rules for managing the risk that we’ll show you may feel disturbing for beginners because they have small accounts. Well, the proper risk control may limits trade size. I know that. But it is important for you to know that it is a protection in the first place.

    The crucial rule of risk control is the 2% rule: never risk more than 2% of your account investment on any opened trade.

    Start by writing down three numbers for every trade: your entry, target and stop. Without them, a trade may become a gamble.

    I want to share with you one of the best advice I got when I become an investor.

    If you see your stock rises by 40% you should sell 20% of your position. When the stock later increases 49% more, sell the other 20%. That will provide you to have 125% of your primary position.

    You have 100% of the initial position. And it grows 40%:

    100%*1.4=140%

    You sell 20% of it, which means that now in your hands you have 80% left:

    140%*0.8=112%

    Stocks rise for another 40% progressively:

    112%*1.4=156.8%

    Now you sell 20% of the stock you have in your hands:

    156.8%*0.8=125.44%

    You end up with 125.44% value of the initial position.


    The bottom line

    To know how to structure your portfolio just implement this rule:100 minus your age.

    This rule is used for asset allocation. Subtract your age from 100 to find how much of your portfolio should be allocated to equities

    If you are at your 30s you should have 70% in equities and 30% in debt. 

    Investing doesn’t have to be difficult if you start early, understand investment opportunities, and invest in different assets to minimize risk. And provides you to have enough to buy a home.