The forex market hours stretch from Monday morning in Sydney, Australia to Friday afternoon in New York. During that time the market is open somewhere around the globe at all hours of the day or night.
However it is not a 24/7 market because it does shut down on weekends. 24/5 would be more accurate.
If you need to know the exact times that the markets open and close, you have to take time zones into consideration. It is very simple when expressed in UTC. This is Universal Coordinated Time, formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time. This is the standard (winter) time in Greenwich, London which is the point of zero longitude on the globe.
So, the normal forex market hours are 22.00 Sunday UTC to 22.00 Friday UTC. This is 10 pm in the UK in winter time.
New York is 5 hours behind the UK so the global forex market opens and closes at 5 pm Sunday/Friday in New York, 2 pm on the US west coast, 11 pm in Germany, 8 am Monday/Saturday in Sydney.
Things get a little complicated when you start to try to take summer time daylight saving into account. This makes one hour difference in countries that observe it. But daylight saving operates in a different way in the southern hemisphere countries such as Australia which have summer time from September to March instead of March to September.
The hours of the different major national markets are as follows:
Sydney: 10 pm to 7 am UTC Tokyo: 12 midnight to 9 am UTC London: 8 am to 5 pm UTC New York: 1 pm to 10 pm UTC
Or we can express that in EST (Eastern US time):
Sydney: 5 pm to 2 am EST Tokyo: 7 pm to 4 am EST London: 3 am to 12 noon EST New York: 8 am to 5 pm EST
You can see that these correspond to 24 hour cover.
However, this does not necessarily mean that trading will be good at all of these times. Just after a major market opens, the prices can be very volatile and unpredictable. Many traders will stay out of the forex market for up to an hour four times a day when the financial markets are waking up in these major cities.
The US dollar is the most traded currency by a long way, involved in 2.5 times as many trades as its nearest rival the euro. This means that events in the USA have a greater impact on the financial markets than events in other countries. The New York market tends to slow down around 3 pm local time (8 pm UTC) and if you are involved in a US dollar pair, this can be a good time to stop trading for the day.
So theoretically you can trade 24 hours a day from Sunday night to Friday night. Automated software in the form of a forex robot can even make this physically possible. However, a cautious trader will choose his times and will not be active during all of the forex market hours.
Would you like to know more?
There is a great eBook “Forex Secret Report” that’ll make you practically an expert,
Dec 2nd, 2009 The market has had a fantastic week so far for stocks and precious metals. The financial and energy sector are underperforming which is a concern, but we continue to hold our positions and will wait until a reversal to lock in our gains.
Things seem to be lining up for stocks and precious metals to take a breather, which is in line with the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.
Let’s take a look…
Dow Jones ETF You can see from looking at the chart the repeated pattern of price rallies, leading to exhaustion and a test of support, followed by another repeat of the pattern. It looks as if the broad market is setup for a test of support which could happen within 2-4 days. Then as we near the holiday prices will start to drift higher. This pattern occurs more often than not as seen on the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.
Dow Jones Seasonal Trends This chart clearly shows weakness in the first half of December and continued strength moving forward. This has not really happened in the past two years which means we are overdue for continued strength. ?
That being said, the previous two years were bear markets and we are now in a bull market. So the tendency is for buying to continue into year end.
GLD ETF Fund Gold continues to push higher surprising many of us. It seems as though money is rushing into metals and buyers are not particularly concern about price. While this is great for short term traders and those of us in the trade, we must remember that the faster things go up, the quicker they correct.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think gold is going to crash, I just think we could get a 10% correction before moving much higher. Gold is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market before pushing much higher.
SLV Exchange Traded Fund Silver has been underperforming yellow gold but is still a solid investment. It is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market.
USO & UNG Funds Oil continues to flag from its breakout back in October. This is a bullish pattern. Last Friday we saw oil open much lower then rally back into the trend channel. This is called an outside day and many times this happens to stocks and commodities as it shakes out the weak traders before starting another rally higher. We will keep a close eye for any low risk entry point.
Natural Gas had a nice rally last week which I mentioned looks a lot like a short covering rally. The price action this week suggests it was and has now made a new low. Today on CNBC it was reported that a new source of natural gas has been discovered. This resource is 20 times larger than the biggest source in the US. Enough gas to last the US over 100 years. This added to the selling on both natural gas and oil today.
Trading Conclusion: Precious metals continue to perform well and it’s important to note that PM stocks are now moving higher with gold. They have been lagging for some time but are on fire again. Great to see!
The Dow Jones index and several others look ready for a breather. The timing of these overbought charts bodes well for the seasonal December pause before the holiday rally. Time will tell.
Energy and financials are both underperforming the market and without their participation we will not see the indexes move much higher.
Continue to hold precious metals positions but be ready to lock in profits if we see the market reverse sharply. I am watching energy for a play but no setups at this time.
Check out my
Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading site . There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trading method. Since 2001 Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade in gold, oil, and silver in both bull and bear markets. Subscribers to his service depend on Chris’ uniquely consistent investment opportunities that carry exceptionally low risk and high return.
Reach Chris at: Chris[at]theGoildAndOilGuy[dot]com
You can successfully trade penny stocks but it is important that you have information before you begin. It is possible to lose money in the stock market so the more knowledge you have the better you will do. You can make money with penny stocks because they give you a lot of trading leverage.
How to:
First you need to subscribe to several of the top investor publications such as Barron’s and the Wall Street Journal. It will help you to have the information you need to pick the right stocks to . You need to understand market conditions and why some penny stocks are better to than others.
You Can:
Next you want to talk with a day trader who has experience with buying and selling penny stocks. This will help you get a better understanding of how the stock market works over all. You will also be informed on what to look for and what to watch out for.
Making money with penny stocks is not hard to do but make sure you understand what you are doing before you spend your hard earned money. It is easy to build wealth when and selling these stocks but the people who have the most success are the ones that understand the market.
Remember that making money with these stocks is within your reach but educate yourself before you begin. You want to make sure that you seek the advice of an expert or someone who is a day trader because they can tell you what the pitfalls may be.
Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Finance.
It is widely accepted that every successful business must have a strong working capital position. It is in this context; an attempt was made to explain the concept and various determinative factors influencing net current assets below:
Gross working capital refers to working capital as the total of current assets. That is to say, Gross working capital = Total current assets. Net working capital refers to working capital as excess of current assets over current liabilities. In other words net working capital refers to current assets financed by long term funds or capital employed of the business.
Accordingly, Net working capital = Current assets – Current liabilities
The net working capital position of the firm is an imperative contemplation, as this will determine the firm’s profitability and risk. Here the profitability refers to profits after expenses and risk refers to the probability that a firm will become technically insolvent where it will be unable to meet obligations when they become due for payment.
A finance manager has to make an appropriate financing mix, which will limit the risk and increase the profitability. Financing mix refers to the proportion of current assets financed by current liabilities and long term funds.
There are two approaches which determine the financing mix (1) Aggressive approach (2) Conservative approach.
According to aggressive approach the long term funds are used to finance only the core or fixed portion of current assets (e.g., minimum level of finished goods inventory, raw material etc) and the other portion i.e. temporary and seasonal requirements are financed by short term funds. This is of high risk and high profit financing mix.
According to conservative approach the total current assets are financed from long term sources and short term sources are used only in emergency situation i.e. when there is an unexpected cash outflow. This is of low-risk and low-profit financing mix.
As we observed two methods of financing mix, one method is of high risk high profit and other is of risk low profit. A finance manager has to trade off between these two extremes.
Operating Cycle:
As there is a time lag between and realization of receivables there is a need for sufficient working capital to deal with the problem which arises due to lack of immediate realization of cash against goods sold. The operating cycle is the length of time required for conversion of non-cash assets into cash. This operating cycle refers to the time taken for the conversion of cash into raw material, raw materials into work-in-progress, work-in-progress into finished goods, finished into receivables into cash and this cycle repeats.
The operating cycle length differs from firm to firm. If a firm has lengthy production process or a firm has liberal credit policy the length of operating cycle will be more. On the other hand, if a firm does not extent credit or the firm is not a manufacturing concern i.e. where cash will be converted into inventory directly then the length of operating cycle will be reduced to a greater extent.
The length of operating cycle is calculated based on the following:
Raw materials storage period (RMSP)
Work in process period (WIPP)
Finished goods storage period (FGP)
Debtors collection period (DCP)
Creditors Payment Period (CPP)
ThereforeLength of operating cycle = 1+2+ 3+4-5
FACTORS INFLUENCING WORKING CAPITAL NEEDS:
A firm should have neither low nor high working capital. Low working capital involves more risk and more returns, high working capital involves less risk and less returns. Risk here refers to technical insolvency while returns refer to increased profits/earnings. The amount of working capital is determined by a wide variety of factors:
Nature of Business: The working capital requirement of a firm depends on the nature of the business. For example, a firm involved in of services rather than manufacturing or a firm is allowing only cash . In the first instance, no investment is required in either raw materials or WIP or finished goods, while in the second occasion there exists no receivable as there is immediate realization of cash. Hence the requirement of working capital will be lower.
2Seasonality of Operations:
If the product of the firm has a seasonal demand like refrigerators, the firms need high working capital in the periods of summer, as the demand for the refrigerators is more and the firm needs low working capital in the periods of winter, as the demand for the product is low.
3. Production Cycle:
The term production cycle refers to the time involved in the manufacture of goods. It covers the time span between the procurement of the raw materials and the completion of the manufacturing process leading to the production of goods. As funds are necessarily tied up during the production cycle, the production cycle has a bearing on the quantum of working capital.
The longer the time span of production cycle, the larger will be the funds tied up and therefore the larger the working capital needed and vice versa.
4.Production Policy:
The quantum of working capital is also determined by production policy. In case of the firms having seasonal demand of the products like refrigerators, air coolers etc. and the production policy of the firm determines the amount of working capital requirement. If the firm has production policy to carry production at a steady level to meet the peak demand, this will result in a large accumulation of finished goods (inventories) during the off-seasons and the abrupt during the peak season. The progressive accumulation of finished goods will naturally require an increasing amount of working capital. If the firm has production policy to produce only when there is a demand then the firm needs low working capital during the slack season and high working capital during season.
5. Credit Policy:
The level of the working capital is also determined by the credit policy, as the firm’s credit policy determines the amount of receivables. If the firm has a liberal credit policy, then the firm needs high working capital and the firm needs low working capital if the company’s credit policy does not allow it to extend credit to the buyers.
6. Market Conditions:
The working capital requirements are also determined by the market conditions. In case of the high degree of competition prevailing in the market the firm has to maintain larger inventories as customers are not inclined to wait for the product. This needs higher working capital requirements. If there is good demand for the product and the competition is weak, a firm can manage with smaller inventory of finished goods, as customers can wait for the product if it is not available in the market.
Thus, a firm can manage with low inventory and will need low working capital requirements.
7.Conditions of Supply:
The availability of raw materials and spares also determine the level of working capital. If there is ready availability of raw materials and spares, a firm can maintain minimum inventory and need less working capital. If the supply of raw materials is unpredictable, then the firm has to acquire stocks as and when they are available for ensuring continuous production.
Thus, the firm needs to maintain larger inventory average and needs larger requirementofworkingcapital.
CONCLUSION:
From the above discussion, it is made clear that the objective of financial management is to maximize the shareholders wealth. Hence, it is needed to generate sufficient profits. The profits generated depend mainly on volume. When the goods are being sold on credit as is the normal practice of business firms today to cope with increased competition the of goods cannot be converted into cash instantly because of time lag between and realization of cash. Further this is possible only through evolving effective working capital policy and better administration on current assets financing.
Dr.R.SRINIVASAN is a Post graduate in commerce and Management. He received his doctoral degree from Alagappa University in 1997. He is now Working as an ASSOCIATE PROFESSORin Post graduate and Research Department of Corporate Secretaryship at Bharathidasan Government College for Women (Autonomous), Pondicherry University, Puducherry.He currently teaches Accounting ,financial management and Research Methodology Subjects. Before Joining BGCW, he was teaching in SNR College, Coimbatore, Sindhi college, Chennai& T.S.Narayanasamy College, Chennai for eight years. He was with the industry for a short term at Salzar Electronics Pvt. Ltd, Coimbatore. He has about 20 years of teaching experience and having research experience of 15 years. His interests are in Accounting and finance, Capital Market, Quantitative Methods. He underwent the Faculty Development Programme at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad during 2000-01. He has presented 20 papers in national and international conferences and has published twenty papers in the areas of Finance and Human resource Management in National Journals. Co-authored a book titled, ‘Investors Protection, published by Raj Publications, New Delhi He has delivered lectures in contemporary finance topics at Pondicherry University. He is involved in consultancy projects for Godrej Saralee, Chennai in the areas of Statistical Applications. He has supervised a number of research projects in the area of corporate finance and Human Resource Management. He is the Board of examiner in corporate Secretaryship and Management for the past two decades. .
We all like to invest money in something that will give us high returns. Often we desire than our money will work for us instead of us working for money. But this is a rare occurrence. Now in such times when the economy seems to be financially shattered, people now want to settle for long-term investments, which are usually considered to be secure. But how long can you wait for returns? If you are someone who wants rapid returns on your investments, then online share trading will be your best bet.
In fact, online share trading enables you to explore the ever intriguing and tempting stock market. However, making money in the stock market is not as easy as it appears to be.
If you are a beginner, you will have to be well-versed with basics of online share trading. At times the learning curve becomes very steep for the novice traders. If you have the patience and the determination to stick to this market, then your efforts will definitely pay off at the end and you may be rewarded handsomely.
Now that you have made up your mind to enter into this trade, you need to register in an online share trading company. Well, that’s not as difficult as you may have thought of. You can easily get your registration done with the help of a company that is already engaged in this trade or you may take the help of a share broker.
In the initial stages, you may get in touch with a share broker and gain some experience in offline share trading. Once you are confident about the trade, then you will be able to understand well the intricacies and performance of the online trade. Following that you will also be able to enjoy all the lucrative gains out of the trade.
Put your thoughts at bay if an impossible thought has ever struck your mind. In fact, with the advent of internet, things are far easier now. Through internet you can not only educate yourself on all the aspects of online share trading but can start your own venture. Though this is a risky proposition, yet you can gain only when you are overly cautious about the fluctuations in the market and know when to play your cards. If your cards fall in the right place at the right time, then you may be fortunate enough to reap millions out of this trade.
Now coming to how the business takes place, the online purchase and of purchase determines the fortune of the trader. The purchase and takes place on a daily basis. It will take some time to get acquainted with the market but once you are able to study the movements, then you will be able to take your own decisions as to which shares you would like to put on and which ones to put on hold.
The media has more than often tagged online share trading as ‘easy money’ but when you ask any investor, you will know what this ‘easy money’ is all about. Making informed decisions should be your forte. The risk-reward principle works at every interval in this trade and if you are able to successfully scale them, then the blessings of ‘Fortune-God’ is always with you.
Please visit and reviews for more information on this topic.
Ah, the fine premium cigar. There truly is nothing to compare to the experience of a fine cigar, a glass of really good cognac, and an evening in the shade. It is a peaceful experience to say the least.
However, have you ever looked at your high-profile smoke and wondered what the events were that led to the making of it? Most true cigar aficionados have at one point or another.
The chain of events that led to the production of the cigar that you now hold in your hand is a long one, spanning back over 500 years. It all began when a brave explorer by the name of Christopher Columbus decided to throw caution to the wind and risk it all to prove that there was more to the world than everyone knew at the time. In 1492, he found success, along with a little something in the new world called tobacco.
Ironically, Luis De Torres of a Spanish Envoy to America decided to take some back to his home for personal use. After spotted lighting it, he was arrested for witchcraft and sentenced to a decade in prison.
The presence of tobacco popped up again as Cortez stumbled upon a tribe of Aztec natives that are smoking tobacco. Through Cortez, the tobacco makes its way throughout Spain. From there, the pipe-smoked substance began to grow in fame and use. By the mid 1500’s, tobacco had made its’ way all the way to France where the first seeds were planted and cultivated by a monk by the name of Andre Thevet.
From there, tobacco made its’ way to the distant lands of Portugal, Russia, Turkey, and Italy. The Portuguese, via a trade route, introduce it to the Japanese. Onward it spreads to Morocco, Egypt, and even to the Philippines. Finally, in the early 1600’s, it makes a full historical circle as documents reveal that the husband of Pocahontas, John Rolfe, brings tobacco to the state of Virginia.
By the early 1600’s, Cuba has built a solid name for fine tobacco growth and becomes the major supplier for the majority of the known world.
In the mid 1700’s, the infamous Catherine the great creates the cigar band as a concept. It seems that Catherine would smoke cigars so often that her fingers would take on a brownish colored stain. Therefore, to avoid this, she had a band designed so she could hold her cigars without the irritating stain.
From there, it is only a matter of time until the major brands began to establish themselves. , H. Upmann, , El Rey del Mundo, Sancho Pancza, Romeo y Julieta, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo and the rest of the premium cigars that you and I enjoy today become very notable over the next century.
That brings us to the here and now. Today, we can sit back and enjoy our fine cigars knowing that they have a history that dates all the way back to Christopher Columbus. So when you enjoy that next high-profile smoke, blow a plume and say, “Here’s to you Chris!”.
Denis is the author and webmaster for CigarInspector.com, your source for and .
Every cigar aficionado knows that the very best cigars come from Cuba. Unfortunately, buying the best can often be a risky proposition. But many cigar enthusiasts are willing to take the risk to get a taste of the very best. If you’re wondering just how one would get their hands on a box of Cubans, read on. Because of the relationship between the United States and Cuba, know that there are a lot of people looking to take advantage of cigar aficionados. Purchasing Cuban cigars should be done with great caution in to avoid getting duped.
First, know that importing cigars from Cuba is considered illegal. The United States placed economic sanctions on the Cuban government in 1963. Ever since then, Cuban cigars have become the holy grail of cigar enthusiasts. There is, however, one loophole: visitors to Cuba who return from a sanctioned and licensed visit are allowed to bring back cigars. However, visitors are not able to bring back more than $100 worth of cigars, and they must be intended for personal use, and not for resale.
Any other ways of obtaining Cuban cigars is considered illegal. It is in fact illegal to , sell or trade Cuban cigars in the United States. Fines for illegal trading, buying or selling of Cuban cigars may face up to $55,000 in civil fines. This type of fine, however, is quite rare. The more likely scenario is that you’ll have your cigars confiscated.
When purchasing a box of Cuban cigars, be prepared to fork over quite a bit of your cash. Prices can range from about $150 to $500 or more. If you’re offered a box below these prices, chances are it may not be the real thing. Most Internet businesses that sell purportedly genuine Cuban cigars tend to be imitations. Always avoid shops or retailers that offer “discounted” Cuban cigars.
How to get your hands on the real thing? The easiest way to get a box of authentic Cuban cigars is to head north to Canada. them in Canada and repackage them so that they are not in their original Cuba packaging. Remove the rings and place the cigars in a different box. Customs agents tend to not inspect cigars carefully, and it is generally not considered a serious offense to bring Cuban cigars into the United States. In fact, many clerks at tobacco shops will even offer to repackage Cuban cigars for you.
Enjoying a good can be compared to tasting a good wine; that is why expert smokers actually ‘taste’ the smoke coming out of every cigar. Taste glands are the best mechanism the human body has to determine the quality of a good smoke. One breath that involves the complexity and the flavors combination of a pure cigar can be compared to the pleasure of tasting a great wine or an exquisite meal. Cigar clubs and bars are growing in the main cities of the world, making London the Mecca due to its trade and consuming capacity. When smoking in public places was prohibited in the United States, a frenzy of cigar bars was unleashed. Cigar Aficionado is the most important publication in the cigar world consisting on a monthly printout of 750,000.00 magazines. Regardless of the place you visit, it will not be long before you can identify a cigar lover; he lives in camaraderie environments. Such environment is much nicer, more cultural and perfumed than the one from cigarette smokers. Cigars are said to be a unique experience due to the following: Very few tobacco varieties are used to elaborate a good cigar, which is planted and aged with extreme caution
The fermentation process makes the tobacco leaves lose most of their nicotine Cigars designed to burn at very low temperatures, in other words, its tobacco should never be excessively heated so it dies not lose its softness. Smoke is not a secondary element, but the key to the pleasure, since the smoke contains the flavor and aroma that only a cigar can provide.
Cigar smoking tips
Once it is lighted, take the cigar to your lips and blow it prior to the first breath; this will dissipate any unwanted flavor consequence of the lighting. Once this is done, fill your mouth with cold smoke and keep it there without inhaling it; take the cigar out of your mouth, and slowly blow it out. Please hold an instant before the next puff. Do not rush, it is recommended that you take intervals of a minute or so, to prevent the cigar from blowing off. Remember, the faster you smoke, the least you will enjoy the experience, as the cigar will heat excessively and produce a bitter flavor. The head of the cigar should be kept as dry as possible, hence avoid keeping the cigar in your mouth for too long. A cigar with moisture starts to lose flavor when nicotine and tar start mixing with saliva, therefore, do not hold your cigar for more than three minutes on every smoke. The first half of the cigar is different to the second, the smoke increases and the flavor intensifies as you smoke which is not always positive. This happens after having smoked a third of the cigar (expert cigar smokers can tell when this moment has been reached, and proceed to light off the cigar, as it had already transpired its thru essence; not doing so will end up in an unpleasant sensation as the cigar turns bitterer by the minute). Hold the cigar gently but firmly, try not to squeeze it, as it may impact the blow. Hold it between your thumb, index and middle fingers. The ashtray should be the cigar’s rest place; let it burn off, so it will rapidly consume and generate less smell than pushing it against the ashtray.
Hope the paragraphs above had given you an introduction to Smoking Cigars. You can find more information at:
