Archive for July, 2008

Volatile stock markets and a lack of confidence in the UK banking system has boosted demand for gold bars and coins from private investors to levels not seen for 25 years according to a report just released. 

The report says investors are using numerous investment methods to turn a profit. One of the most used is Internet gaming. Gaming has mesmerized the investment community for the past few years. Why? With the use of new software, it is now possible to scan prices globally in seconds and uncover risk-free betting opportunities which provide guaranteed returns of as much as 12% per month. Using software like one called ArbAlarm, ordinary people can now easily profit from this unique method of investment. Aware of this trend, the UK government recently announced through the Treasury that the profits made from sports arbitrage trading will continue to remain free of all tax. This includes income tax and capital gains tax on all profits. 

In an interview, former City trader Rajeev Shah, famous author of ‘Sports-Arbitrage – How To Place Riskless Bets & Create Tax-Free Investments’ explained that an arbitrage occurs when different bookmakers’ prices on the same events overlap. In these cases, it is possible to bet on all of the outcomes in that event in such a way as to be guaranteed a total return which is greater than the total outlay. The mathematics of this type of trade are precise & the resultant profits are free of all risk.

The use of alternative investment methods has become widespread among the investing community. Besides Internet gaming, investing in precious metals is also at the top of the list. Tens of thousands of investors have rushed to buy gold from bullion dealers over the past year, during which the gold price has broken through the $1,000 barrier on occasions. 

Tony Baird of Baird & Co, one the UK’s biggest gold bullion dealers, said business was getting busier and busier – with punters investing £1,500 to £150,000 in gold bars and coins. Baird, who has been in the gold business for 40 years, claimed that demand was on a par with the late 1970s. 

“We have had queues in here. People are nervous of the stock markets and they are nervous of the banks. Northern Rock was a trigger and now Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have stirred things up again this week.” 

Bullion Vault the online marketplace for gold bullion bars – said that number of private individuals investing in gold has more than doubled over the past year.

Let’s be frank, UK economists, and heck, economists around the world, have something of a reputation for being very wishy washy. When you’re making predictions about something like the economy, in general, it’s actually a good idea to make someone broad predictions. Nobody has a magic crystal ball. All an economist can do is look at the numbers and make an educated guess. It may turn out to be true, and it may turn out to have been just that, a guess, but there’s never a one hundred percent guarantee that they’ll get it right. In other words, predicting the economy in the chaotic world of early twenty first century financing is a lot like predicting the weather. All we have to go on is what it “looks like might happen”.

And so, when economists across the board finally come off that fence and settle down, together, on one side or the other, it’s usually because they’re on to something. Very cautious about making predictions in anything but uncertain terms, today’s economists are now pretty much in agreement: The economy is in a sucky state of affairs.

There’s just no denying the words written on the wall anymore. The housing market is going nuts, gas prices are at incredible all time highs, there’s the credit crisis, inflation, and so on.

We may see the silver lining before too long, but the most conservative estimates place the financial woes we now face to last, at the very least, another year or two.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to take whatever disposable income you do have, while you still have it, and put it towards something smart, something that will pay off. If this means skipping your daily latte, so be it. Citizens of the UK and citizens of the US alike, we can’t really afford to keep blowing through our extra income, because the worst is yet to come, and we really do need to be prepared for that rainy day just on the horizon.

In the early 1990’s, real estate was a pretty safe bet, it looked like the market would only keep improving. The 1990’s have been over for awhile, though. In the early twenty first century, real estate isn’t the safety net it once was.

Rather, today’s investor is having to get a bit more creative, to come up with low risk solutions to investment worries. One such alternative would be the arbitrage trading industry, which the UK government is helping to support by promising no taxes charged for arbitrage based income.

Arbitrage consists of finding two bookmakers placing the odds in such a way that you can bet for one outcome with bookmaker A, and the other outcome with bookmaker B, without putting yourself at risk to lose any money. It sounds nuts, but it actually holds up. It’s only really made possible by the internet, where you can find bookmakers in any given area and place bets with them.

If you’re interested, look for ArbAlarm or similar software, which helps you to find and capitalize on these opportunities without having to scour the internet and check the odds yourself.

On the other hand, if you’re not so sure, check out “Sports-Arbitrage, How to Place Riskless Bets and Create Tax-Free Investments” by Rajeev Shah. “Sports-Arbitrage” should have all the information you need to make an informed decision and see if arbitrage is right for you.

Demand for commercial lettings is falling at fastest rate for 10 years, a new study released last week said. The downturn in residential and commercial property markets is intensifying, underlining the growing risk of Britain entering its first recession in almost two decades. 

The study also mentioned of a shift in an emerging industry that investors worldwide have grabbed hold of by the millions. This is Internet gaming. With the use of new software, it is now possible to scan prices globally in seconds and uncover risk-free betting opportunities which provide guaranteed returns of as much as 12% per month. Using software like one called ArbAlarm, ordinary people can now easily profit from this unique method of investment. Aware of this trend, the UK government recently announced through the Treasury that the profits made from sports arbitrage trading will continue to remain free of all tax. This includes income tax and capital gains tax on all profits. 

In an interview, former City trader Rajeev Shah, famous author of ‘Sports-Arbitrage – How To Place Riskless Bets & Create Tax-Free Investments’ explained that an arbitrage occurs when different bookmakers’ prices on the same events overlap. In these cases, it is possible to bet on all of the outcomes in that event in such a way as to be guaranteed a total return which is greater than the total outlay. The mathematics of this type of trade are precise & the resultant profits are free of all risk. 

The bulk of the study dealt with commercial property demands. The success of Internet gaming, though very profitable and good for the individual is a economic red flag. Experts say the profitability of Internet gaming is long term even if the economy improves. Despite this good news, if one looks at the big picture the economic outlook looks grim. Especially in the commercial property industry.

Demand for commercial property fell during the second quarter at its fastest pace since 1998, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Some 50pc more surveyors reported a fall in demand rather than a rise, up from 31pc in the first three months of the year. 

Appetite for retail space was among the hardest hit, with 64pc of those questioned seeing a fall in demand, higher than the 42pc in the first quarter. 

The RICS also found that the value of inducements offered to tenants is climbing and expectations for future rents is dwindling in a survey that will do little to dispel the economic gloom. 

“The sheer negativity of the survey is the most striking thing,” said Simon Rubinsohn, the RICS’s chief economist. 

“We knew that investors had become much more cautious toward commercial property, but now we know that tenant demand is now falling.” 

Confidence in the retail property market tumbled to -88 in Greater London from -50 as consumers continue to tighten their belts. The findings come as the Ernst & Young Item Club warned that the number of people out of work is set to reach the 2 million mark for the first time since the Labor Party came to power in 1997. 

A tougher approach to mortgage lending by banks, as well as falling prices, saw prices drop an average of 1.8pc during the month. Average asking prices dropped £4,345 to £235,219.

Miles Shipside, the commercial director of Rightmove, said that the plunge in the volume of transactions is unlikely to be reversed without a significant thawing in the mortgage market. Unless this thawing happens, added Mr. Shipside, “prices are in danger of falling far beyond the level required to address underlying affordability constraints.”

The credit crisis is causing a growing number of jobs losses in the UK, with official unemployment figures for last month the worst in 16 years according to a new report. The report also mentioned the alternative ways that people are making money to make ends meet. The main way, according to the survey, is Internet gaming.

Internet gaming has hit the world by storm because of new software that came out in recent years. It is now possible to scan prices globally in seconds and uncover risk-free betting opportunities which provide guaranteed returns of as much as 12% per month. Using software like one called ArbAlarm, ordinary people can now easily profit from this unique method of investment. Aware of this trend, the UK government recently announced through the Treasury that the profits made from sports arbitrage trading will continue to remain free of all tax. This includes income tax and capital gains tax on all profits.

In an interview, former City trader Rajeev Shah, famous author of ‘Sports-Arbitrage – How To Place Riskless Bets & Create Tax-Free Investments’ explained that an arbitrage occurs when different bookmakers’ prices on the same events overlap. In these cases, it is possible to bet on all of the outcomes in that event in such a way as to be guaranteed a total return which is greater than the total outlay. The mathematics of this type of trade are precise & the resultant profits are free of all risk.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose for a fifth month in June, and by 15,500 to 840,100 – the steepest monthly rise since December 1992. 

While the number of people employed actually increased by 61,000 over a three-month period, the rate of increase is slowing and as unemployment is considered to be a lagging indicator, economists expect the numbers to grow.

Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics, said: “Expect the labour market to weaken further – we see the unemployment rate rising to 8pc eventually from its current 5.2pc, equating to a rise of 900,000.”

The number of unemployed people increased by 12,000 in the three months to May. 

Earnings growth was 3.8pc in the three months to May, down 0.1pc compared with the previous month. The Bank of England will be closely watching wage growth, hoping that it remains contained, despite the sharp rise in inflation. 

The risk of the current slowdown escalating into Britain’s first recession in almost 20 years will be determined by how aggressively companies cut staff to shield profits from a painful mix of slowing demand and rising costs. 

Companies at the sharp end of the Britain’s housing-led slowdown are already wielding the axe. 

Earlier this month troubled housebuilder Barratt announced plans to cut 1,000 of its 6,700-strong workforce while Pendragon, the country’s biggest car dealer, laid off 500 workers. 

Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight, said: “It is absolutely critical that earnings growth remains muted, if the eventual next move in interest rates is to be down. 

“Any sign that higher inflation and elevated inflation expectations are feeding through to push up pay significantly would put major pressure on the Bank of England to lift interest rates – despite the deepening economic slowdown – to try to prevent a damaging wages-price spiral developing.” 

He added that rising unemployment coupled with cost-cutting by companies would likely contain wage growth.