How volatile are commodities?
Commodities are more volatile than most assets. The supply-demand dynamics of commodities are continuously changing, and sometimes very rapidly. Different commodities will have different levels of volatility, of course. Some commodities are extremely volatile. For example, natural gas has had a volatility of almost 45% in some periods, and gold has experienced movements of 20-30% per year lately. Crude oil prices fell some 50% in 2015, as a global supply glut was met with weakening demand, particularly from China. Gold is actually on the less-volatile side of the spectrum for commodities. Silver, Nickel, and crude oil tend to be on the upper end of the spectrum along with exotic metals such as platinum and palladium. Continue reading...
What is a 457 Plan?
A 457 is a deferred compensation arrangement that is available to some government employers and non-profit organizations. A 457 Plan, offered to state and local public workers and employees of a few nonprofit organizations, functions similarly to a 401(k) or 403(b): the contributions are automatically deducted from your paycheck before taxes and transferred into your account, where they grow tax-deferred until retirement. Continue reading...
What is a Thrift Savings Plan?
A Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a 401(k)-style plan for Federal employees. A Thrift Savings Plan functions the same way a 401(k) does – you can elect to contribute a portion of your salary, known as an employee deferral or employee contribution, and the money will be allowed to grow in the account tax-deferred. The TSP is only available to Federal Employees and United States military personnel. There is a flat contribution of 1% from the employer, and, depending on the type of Federal job, employees may be eligible for a matching contribution from the employer. Continue reading...
What is the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA)?
HERA was passed in 2008 in response to the subprime mortgage crisis that rocked the entire economy and left many Americans underwater on their mortgages. People would need to refinance their mortgages and this bill approved the funding to help that happen. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act did several things, all aiming to help American consumers and lending institutions get out of the recession left by the subprime mortgage bubble in 2008. Continue reading...
How Do You Calculate Mining Profitability?
Mining for cryptocurrency may or may not be profitable for you, but the good news is that you can easily run the numbers. Mining profitability is will primarily depend on the hashrate (mining speed) of your mining hardware, and the amount of energy it takes to run the hardware. Mining software usually comes with system monitors that will tell you with a fair degree of accuracy what the numbers are, and several online calculators exist to help as well. The cost of energy is the main concern, many miners will seek to be near the cheapest sources of energy, such as a hydroelectric plant in Sweden or countries with energy subsidies such as China. Continue reading...
What is the Broadening Bottom (Bullish) Pattern?
The Broadening Bottom pattern is formed when the price of a pair progressively makes higher highs (2, 4) and lower lows (1, 3, 5) following two widening trend lines. The price is expected to move up or down past the pattern depending on which line is broken first. What distinguishes a Broadening Bottom from a Broadening Top is that the price of the pair is declining prior to entering the pattern formation. Continue reading...
What is Net Income?
Net income is the amount of earnings left over once expenses have been deducted from sales. In short, it is the net amount of profit or loss. It is calculated by taking total earnings in a period (such as a quarter), and deducting all elements of the cost of doing business (labor, depreciation, fixed expenses, overhead, etc…) Net income is ultimately a measure of a company’s profitability, and its calculation should be scrutinized closely to ensure all expenses are being accounted for accurately. Continue reading...
What is an Account Freeze?
An account freeze stops all pending transactions and does not honor new transaction requests for a financial depository account. A checking or savings account might be frozen at the prerogative of the banking institution or at the request of the account owner or government agency. Similarly an investment account might be frozen for breaking the terms of the account agreement with regards to trading activity or margin requirements, in addition to illegal activity or court order for another reason. Continue reading...
What is the Federal Budget?
A budget is a plan for expenses that seeks to keep them within the limitations of revenue inflows so that a business or organization does not operate at a deficit. The Federal Budget is much larger and more complicated that most budgets, but it works similarly. Because the use of funds is such an important issue on such a large scale, there are several steps needed to create and enact a budget. A Federal Budget is created every year. It originates with a proposed budget from the President. The two houses of Congress go through significant deliberation in committees and on the floor, working on the Appropriations Bills. They then reconcile their budgets between the two houses and send it to the President for approval. Continue reading...
AI Screener: Instruction Manual
Tickeron's AI Screener is the best way to select what to invest in and what to trade. The AI Screener generates buy / sell recommendations for 4,000 stocks, 1,000 ETFs, 30,000 mutual funds, 500 cryptocurrencies, and 100 Forex pairs. This unique tool also generates buy / sell recommendations for groups of stocks, combined by industries, themes, and indexes. You can either create new filters for your preferred selections or you can use our preset "popular filters". Filters include our proprietary fundamental ratings, technical indicators, patterns, market cap fluctuations, volume and price changes, etc. Scanners are add-on features that can track the end-of-day performance of your watchlists and portfolios. Continue reading...