When 2 invest in bonds & how 2 use them as barometer of economic health with relation to share topics?
153992
When you begin investing, you should invest in bonds first because they are less volatile.\n\nThen, when you have saved enough to invest in a stock mutual fund, you should add that.\n\nYou should always keep your investments split between bonds and stocks because the stability of bonds balances the volatility of stocks.  \n\nA 75% stocks and 25% bonds allocation gives good results if you are 5 to 10 years away from retirement.  If you are within 5 years of retirement, you should have a 50-50 split.  If you are retired and drawing down your investments, you should have 80% bonds and 20% stock.\n\nIf you are investing for a particular purpose, such as a house downpayment or college education, 5 years before needing it, you should move your money out of your stock and bond investments in proportion to your allocation.  The money should then be put into bonds because they are less volatile.
54607
The general trend of interest rates is moving upward (some analysts said this). Since the price of bond and interest rate has an inverse relationship, hence if r increases then price of bond decreases. Given the assumption that r is increasing, the current price of your bond holdings will be most likely to go down and hence you will incur a loss. This is what we call interest rate risk when one is holding a position in bond. For more research topic on bond risks, go to http://www.investopedia.com. Gud luck
166097
Well both of course! It's good to save it and invest it into something that will generate more like a savings bond or mutual fund! But spending money can be important too, just don't spend too much and keep it balanced.
792815
Hi, i suggest a great site with plenty of Issues related to your Investing and everything around it. it also provide clear and accurate answer to many common questions.\n\nhttp://investing.sitesled.com/\n\nI am sure that you can get your answers in this website.\n\nGood Luck and Best Wishes!
164271
There are a lot in shares and bonds. It is also depending on your purpose also (e.g. if you are an investor, speculator or just want to study shares and bonds).\n\nTo me, the following things are important and must know:\n- what is shares and the difference between shares and bonds\n- how trading works\n- the relationship between risk and returns\n- the factors affecting share price and bond price\n- how to estimate the underlying share company and the bonds
720137
I have worked with the managers running Calamos and they are a smart group.  Calamos is the master behind convertable bonds, even has written a few books on the subject.  Without looking up the specific funds, I can tell by the yield that these are likely to converts and hi yld bonds.\nIf you are unaware of the risks of hi yld and converts then you should learn first.  I hate the old saying of "high return = high risk" as this is not always true, but, that said, hi yld bonds could present a problem as the consumer continues to weaken and the economy slows.  Hi yld is likely to result in lower returns if defaults pick-up.  In much the same way, the converts are likely to have lower yields as the equity kicker does not pick-up do to the lower returns.\nHowever, Calamos and his Naperville crew are well aware of this, and managing their open ended funds accordingly.  But wait, you said closed end!  And here comes the additional problem to consider.  Closed end funds should trade at NAV (net asset value), however this is not always the case as the value of the fund is based upon supply and demand.  Now, the closer to maturity (or unlocking) of the closed end fund, the less likely the fund will trade below or above NAV.\nGiven the two back drops I would wait for expectations of rates to decline when investing in hi-yld and converts.  Especially closed end funds.
536193
i suggest to invest currently in gold as best option or if u want ur investment more secure then invest in insurance unit link plans
851021
To compare investments one often uses the Sharpe ratio:\n\nS= annual expected return/(risk - risk free rate) \nwhere:\nrisk = standard deviation of the annual returns\nrisk free rate = the rate of a gouvernment bond corresponding to the period over which you want to invest your money, say 4.5%
137500
Great question.\n\nAnalyst reports about an industry or a company are very valuable in deciding where to invest.\n\nProbably the best and easiest free report finder is Yahoo! (see link below)
344339
The first poster is correct. Bonds (or Treasury Bills, T-Bills) are the safest investment. They are considered risk free, and they're currently paying in the high 4-5% range.\n\nHowever, you can get a better return for just a slight increase in risk... you don't need to be entirely conservative.
455865
there are future derivates exchanges in india where one can hedge..these futures currently span over 1-6 months, drivers are marriage, investment, speculation.
693037
I think most people don't really take into account the current interest rate when saving.  Even though they have gone up, they're still pretty low, if you look back at history.\n\nI might be enticed into buying some long-term bonds if they go into double digits, but by then the economy will look a bit strange.\n\nPersonally, I haven't changed my habits from the rise in interest rates.  They're still too low to worry about right now.
523415
http://www.bondsonlinequotes.com/index.cfm?CFID=16970449&CFTOKEN=12afc9b-ce49873d-62e5-41c4-a8db-c5ed72b4a415\n\nSign up and use
396889
Are you investing into a company that is highly leveraged?  Meaning does it have a lot of debt?  If it does, interest rates are important.  \nIn regards with consumer sentiment, there are certain companies that are less sensitive to consumer sentiment.  For example food industry is really not impacted by consumer sentiment because we all got to eat right? =)  Electronics makers are very susceptible to consumer sentiment because you will buy food before you buy that new iPod, though at the rate this country (USA) is going things may change soon.\n\nAleks
910643
Hi Tajinder. Go and read some of the articles on investing at http://www.hammocksurvivalguide.com/\nYou will find a lot of useful advice there. Make sure you know what you are doing before you part with your money. Remember that when somebody makes money through an investment. Somebody else usually loses it.
693736
The GPO main page is:\nhttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/\n\nGenerally, when you are talking about derivatives, you are talking about leverage. You would not want to be leveraged and making decisions based on economic indicators.\n\nFirst of all, why do you care? Have you ever found one economist that was right, ever?\n\nSecond, when the indicators are reported, it's already old news. It's the "perception" by the crowd, or the difference in the calculated vs expected values.\n\nThird, the stock market is ahead of the economy, and some say "predict" the economy six months in advance. With economics, you're looking at six-month old data.\n\nYou're listening to the media hype, like what they have to say really has some significance. It's just hype and old news. Some people read every word of the Wall Street Journal and think they're informed. It's just entertainment and old information, already discounted by the markets.\n\nWhat you want is new ideas, like from Barron's, but even then it's slim pickin'. Get into the here-and-now of what is actually happening, not what happened last month.
404298
Go to the bank and buy I bonds. They are risk free, and will keep up with inflation as measured by the CPI.