Global Markets Overview: A recovery in risky assets is running out of steam, as optimism about stronger company earnings wanes and fears that growth may ease are on the rise

For many investors, earning income used to be an easy and simple process. You would invest $100,000 on, say January 1 and over the next five years you would earn a steady 8% on that investment. At maturity, you would get your $100,000 back and you would have renegotiate your term deposit rates with your banker. Over the years, the process became marginally more complicated. Rates on term deposits dropped, allowing fewer people to enjoy the lifestyle they had become accustomed to. And so the choice of investment changed as well. Instead of term deposits, investors might have shifted into fairly safe government or corporate bonds. For a slightly higher rate, investors needed to take on a little higher risk. And while bond prices would fluctuate between the day you bought and the day the investment matured, at the maturity date the face value of that bond was repaid to the investor. It was all good.

But as many people know quite well these days, fixed income investments like bonds come with considerably more risk. In periods of increasing rates, those bond prices will drop. And while the face value will be repaid at maturity, there is always the “what if” of needing the investment prior to that maturity date. With liquidity such a big concern for a lot of investors, they have had to look elsewhere. And of course, to add salt to the wound, rates are just not as attractive as they used to be.

This is how dividend paying securities have gained a lot of traction recently. With the expected rate increases in the near future as well a need for liquidity thanks to the current economic state, dividend paying stocks have meant a return to higher income while taking on only marginally greater risk. Companies like General Electric, most of the big Energy companies, many solid banks both domestic and international, as well as many other blue chip companies will pay income in the form of dividends. This income, as a percentage of the price of the security, is what is known as the dividend yield.

The dividend yield on any given security will fluctuate each time the security trades at a new price. For example, a $3.00 dividend on a $50 stock is a 6% yield; but once that stock goes to $75, that yield drops to 4.5%. In other words, as the security price increases, the yield drops. This is exactly how things work with bonds. And like bonds, the income stream to the investor remains the same.

For example, an investor who bought at $50 will control the same amount of shares regardless of what happens to price. As well, the income will always be 6% of their investment. If they invest $100,000, the income will always be $6,000, even when the security price rises to $75 and the yield drops to 4.5%. So when the stock price increases, the <i>value of the investment</i> will increase on paper. The income remains the same at $6,000.

Essentially, dividend yield matters only when the original investment is made. As the security price increases, the yield will drop, but the investor’s income in dollar terms remains the same. The biggest difference with stocks versus bonds is that the investor will have a little more pressure to sell at market prices. But the problem will be how to replace the original income.

So while dividend yield only matters when making the original purchase, comparing one dividend for one stock to another dividend on another stock whenever a change is made in one’s portfolio becomes an ongoing concern. And investors needs to stay abreast of these yields, rising or otherwise, so that they know what the “going” rates are.

–> Have you considered Dividend Funds? Find out the Top Dividend Fund Pick by MutualFundSite.org.

Chris has more than 17 years of financial services experience. He currently manages a website about Roll Roofing at Roll-Roofing.com where he discusses different roll roofing alternatives.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Blanchet

Global Markets Overview: The FTSE All-World index is up 0.5% and the euro is adding to recent rises as investors regain their faith in a solid, if unspectacular, economic recovery

real estate land Sales, or rather how to increase sales, is one of the most important issues within any small business.  Fortunately there are a number of ways in which you can increase sales and improve conversions by integrating your sales and marketing functions:

1. Up-sell

“Do you want fries with that?” is a classic up-sell. You catch people when they have already made the commitment to buy from you and suggest an additional item to your customer. Now this isn’t just a technique for product-based businesses because service businesses can suggest support contracts or training on an on-going basis to support the purchase.

juegos motos There are many options you can use in finding a perfect sales rep for your business. You can use publications, organizations, trade shows, and different sources you are essentially acquainted with.

How to publicize in public and how is it done? Place your ad at the rear of a trade mag. Some magazines have a certain section for advertising or commonly called classifieds. It is a good idea to run your ad several times for optimal results.

real estate marketing 5. Have a PMA – Positive Mental Attitude

Attitude can make a big difference in business. If you expect the market to be tough, well, you’ll find evidence that it’s tough out there – you’ll find evidence which supports your theory. If you know that there are people out there who are buying, you’ll do whatever it takes to find them. This applies to everyone in your business – not just your sales people.

6. Reward your rainmakers

Every organisation has people who work week in week out to deliver the goods in terms of bringing in the business. Make sure you they feel appreciated and recognised for their work, and this doesn’t just mean rewarding them financially – a sincere “well done” goes a long way.

7. Ask for the business

Stop skirting around the issue. Ask people to place an order with you and more often than not they will! Give them a reason to buy now. I’m not talking about dropping the price to close the deal, what I mean here is give them a logical reason that they should buy now for example – prices are going up next month, we have limited stock available, order now and you’ll get it by Easter, Christmas or whatever the seasonal offer is.

Of course there are many, many more ways in which you can improve your sales, but these are some of the ones that will give you almost instant results You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.

Technorati Tags: business sales, juegos motos, real estate land, real estate marketing

Some of the most successful investors in the world have one thing in common, investment property.  They have a good sense of when the right time to buy an investment is.  You can buy the same investments that the most successful investors buy but if you don’t do so at the most opportune time, you might actually loose money on the investment.

One of the classic ways of building wealth is to buy land. Let’s back up for a minute.  It’s not actually that simple.  You need to have the right timing when you buy land.  There is a right time and a wrong time to buy land and the most successful real estate investors understand that.  So how does one know when the right time to buy land is?  Well, most of the time, successful inverters closely guard their strategies.  That’s not necessarily the case right now.  Smart real estate investors agree that now is the perfect time to buy land.

We are in one of the best “buyers markets” of recent times.  It’s not uncommon for land to be sold for much less than it is actually worth right now.  Because the real estate market so soft right now, you as a savvy investor can negotiate some incredible deals.  If you are a good negotiator, you realize that many land sellers are struggling right now.  You can use this to your advantage.  During a strong real estate market, it will probably be pretty difficult to haggle the purchase price down much.  Fortunately for those who are looking to invest in land, the real estate market is really in the tank right now.

The smart approach to buying land at the best price is to offer many thousands of dollars less than they are asking.  I mean really low ball their asking price.  If someone was asking $50,000 for a parcle of land, I would offer only $25,000.  It takes a strong stomach to make this kind of offer.  Many people are simply too embarrassed to do it.  Here’s why this is a good strategy.  If they don’t go for it, you’re not out anything because you don’t absolutely need the property.  If they don’t accept the offer, or won’t at least come close to it, move along to another property.  Remember, we’re trying to take advantage of this “buyers market” and make some good purchases here.  If they do go for it, you’ve hit a home run and stand to make a huge profit when you eventually decide to sell.

You may end up making dozens of low ball offers on properties before you get someone to accept one.  Don’t get discouraged or buy properties that you can’t get for substantially less than the current fair market value.  The key to success here is to put the leg work in and make enough low ball offers that eventually some pay off.