Stock Carnival Ecstasy - July 28, 2011

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Welcome to the July 28, 2011 edition of Stock Carnival Ecstasy.This time we have 19 great articles on a variety of topics. Alexander starts us off with a look at Dividend Paying Stocks. Michael Donelly writes about the US dollar being in danger of an imminent collapse, even after several years of declines. For a look at past and upcoming technology IPOs, we have Colin J. Lokey's article. Steve presents Investment Strategies for Women. And finally Steve Smith likes the Euro/Swiss Franc Relations in Forex. Hope you enjoy the material, bookmark, share, like and tweet to all your friends.

Alexander presents Why Choose Dividend Paying Stocks posted at Dividend Stocks, saying, "Many people wonder why dividend paying stocks make such good investments. After all, it doesn’t seem like much to be paid a few cents a share."

Michael Donelly presents Is the US dollar in danger of an imminent collapse? posted at www.anotherway.org, saying, "For many years the US dollar has been considered as the world’s leading currency. Even today the dollar is world’s reserve currency which means that many other governments keep their savings in dollars. But the recent crisis hit the US hard and this situation might change. The US economy used to be the dominant but many economists believe that China’s economy will become number one in the world by year 2020......"

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Nathan Richardson presents What Is A Good Credit Score To Buy A House posted at Deals & Tips, saying, "When buying a home, it's important life-changing decision that requires a good credit score to save money. Sometimes it makes since to wait until your improve your credit score."

Joe Morgan presents Insider behavior during corrections speaks volumes. posted at After Hours Investing, saying, "One blogger's reason for buying gold now, as well as a good overview of how to do it in your IRA. Food for thought."

Kyle Taylor presents Make Money Answering Text Messages posted at The Penny Hoarder.

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Colin J. Lokey presents As Investors Await Facebook IPO, LinkedIn and Groupon Look to Cash In posted at http://blog.lokeyisstreetsmart.com, saying, "As investors eagerly await Facebook's IPO, Groupon and LinkedIn hope to capitalize on social-networking mania by floating two high-profile IPOs. Should investor's take the bait?"

Maxim Kazawy presents Best Dividend-Paying Stocks in the Technology & Semiconductor Sectors posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, "The technology sector does not have the highest dividend paying stocks that we would see from Utilities, Telecommunications or Oil & Energy companies. However due to slowing demand for Personal Computers & Semiconductors (which are the brains of computers), PC manufacturers such as IBM or Intel & Semiconductor makers such as Linear Tech Corp or Texas Instruments are wanting to reward their shareholders just for holding their shares; by paying dividends."

stefanz presents Successful selling - Skuzet - Investing, do it yourself posted at skuzet, saying, "Find articles about investment strategy, investment risk, technical analysis, valuation methods and investment products. Use of investment tools and our online calculation tools."

Maxim Kazawy presents Best Dividend-Paying Stocks in Master Limited Partnership (MLPs) Sector posted at Highest Dividend Paying Stocks, saying, "MLPs also have favorable tax structures from the Government and are popular among retiree investors looking for solid dividend distributions as well as lowering their tax liability. In this article, we will go over some of the highest dividend paying stocks in the Master Limited Partnerships (MLP) sector."

Jason Price presents How Long Should You Invest In The Stock Market? posted at One Money Design, saying, "What does the market's history tell us about how long we should invest in it?"

Maxim Kazawy presents Highest Dividend Paying Aristocrat Stocks in Beverage Industry posted at Highest Dividend Paying Stocks, saying, "The market value of top 3 beverage companies in the world exceeds $280 billion. These dividend paying aristocrats are PepsiCo, Coca Cola & Brown Forman. All 3 companies are in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index meaning they have consistently raised their dividends every year for the last 25 years, without missing a single year."

Steve presents Investment Strategies for Women posted at FastSwings, saying, "Woman today need to understand and control their money investments including stocks, funds, real estate and possibly Forex."

Hemant Beniwal presents Indian ETF Guide posted at The Financial Literates, saying, "ETF as an investment concept has failed in India. The introductory stride has been lost. Even with 10 years of existence in Indian markets they have not able to make any space in investor’s portfolio."

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MM presents Dissemination of News from Lake Wobegon posted at black swans & white crows.

Steve Smith presents Taking Advantage of Euro/Swiss Franc Relations in Forex posted at Forex Trading System Central, saying, "As far as Forex trading is concerned, there exists one relationship between currencies of which every Forex trader should know before actually to start trading."

Alexander presents Choosing Dividend Stocks With Cash Flow posted at Dividend Stocks, saying, "When it comes to choosing a dividend stock, many of us are tempted to look solely at items like dividend yield or dividend growth."

Jackson presents Do I Need a Tax Consultant? posted at 2009 Tax, saying, "Getting the largest tax refund might involve finding a qualified tax consultant if you are unsure of how to take certain deductions that are new on your return this season."

Steve presents A Tax Consultant Can Help You Save on Your Taxes | 2009 Taxes posted at 2009 Taxes, saying, "If you are busy running a small to mid-sized business, your time is better spent working on the business than working on your taxes."

Judy Blackburn presents How To Put Some Extra Spending Cash in Your Pocket posted at Debt Consolidation, saying, "Earning some extra income is important when you are trying to reduce your outstanding debt and get your personal balance sheet in better order. Try building a website, doing property management or consulting in a field you understand."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of stock carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Stock Carnival Ecstasy - July 14, 2011

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Welcome to the July 14, 2011 edition of Stock Carnival Ecstasy.In this issue we have the top 15 articles for the period on investing and investment related topics. Colin J. Lokey starts us off with a post on the Bubble in U.S. Treasuries and how to trade it using Puts. Maxim Kazawy has the Top 6 Companies with Consistent Dividend Growth that you should consider for your portfolio. We have an article on a Cloud Computing ETF by Dan. And finally Tracy Miller has a lighter article dealing with 12 Touchy Money Topics to Avoid at Dinner. Hope you like the material, bookmark, tweet, share, and come back next time.

Tax Debt Help presents Are High Tax Rates Reason for Small Cisco Systems Dividend? posted at Tax Debt Help.

Jon Milligan presents Average Income in USA posted at CPA Career Coach, saying, "The CPA Career Coach posts the latest information on the average income in the USA"

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Colin J. Lokey presents Bubble in U.S. Treasuries posted at http://blog.lokeyisstreetsmart.com, saying, "How investors and the Fed have inflated a bubble in U.S. Treasuries and how to profit when the bubble bursts using puts on two popular iShares Bond ETFs."

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Mike Piper presents The Perfect Portfolio: Don’t Bother Trying posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, "It's easy to get caught up in attempts to perfect your portfolio. The problem is, it will never actually be perfect."

Tracy Miller presents 15 Most Famous Cases of Insurance Fraud posted at Insurance Quotes Blog, saying, "Check out these famous insurance fraud cases that surely carried a huge bounty."

Kyle Taylor presents 2012 Elections: How to Profit from Them posted at The Penny Hoarder.

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Maxim Kazawy presents Top 6 Companies with Consistent Dividend Growth posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, "Investing in the best dividend paying companies creates huge wealth over the long term thanks to compounding dividend returns. Some investors like to top it up a notch by investing in good companies with huge dividend growth rates, this is like turbo charging your Porsche Cayyene."

Maxim Kazawy presents Highest Paying Dividend Stocks in Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Sector posted at Highest Dividend Paying Stocks, saying, "Investors should allocate a portion of their portfolios to real estate by investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). Real estate investment trusts own different types of real estate, from residential buildings & apartment complexes to commercial office space including malls, office buildings, retail shops, parking lots, etc."

Dan presents Cloud Computing ETF: Where There’s a Fad, There’s an ETF posted at ETF Base, saying, "Where there's a headline, there's a new ETF. So we see with the new Cloud Computing ETF. This review covers whether it's worth the risk (and the expense ratio!)."

Colin J. Lokey presents Gold Resource Likely To Lose Luster posted at http://blog.lokeyisstreetsmart.com, saying, "Gold Resource (Ticker:GORO) has risen from around $4 to a recent high above $30 since 2009. The story behind the company however indicates fundamental weakness. With short-interest rising, money might be made by betting against this gold miner."

Maxim Kazawy presents 3 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Outperform the Market posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, "What is a better way of earning bigger return on your money? Well the answer is high dividend yielding stocks! In this article, we will go over 3 high yield dividend stocks that also have a good track record of growing them."

Maxim Kazawy presents Stocks that are Raising Dividends - July 2011 Edition posted at Best Dividend Stocks, saying, "Most retirees & Income investors know the value of stocks that are raising their dividends gradually over time. Dividend growth can make low yielding dividend stocks in to high yield dividend stocks over time because of the growth of dividends."

Tracy Miller presents 12 Touchy Money Topics to Avoid at Dinner posted at Insurance Quotes Blog, saying, "Money is an uncomfortable subject for many, regardless of whether they're rich or just getting by."

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Tommy John presents The Advantage Of Using Taxbrain If You Make Charitable Donations | 2010 Taxes posted at 2010Taxes, saying, "CharityDeductions has partnered with TaxBrain tax software to make claiming deductions easier."

Judy Blackburn presents 3 Ways To Get Yourself Out Of Debt posted at Debt Consolidation, saying, "Of the three ways to eliminate debt, consolidation is the easiest while the debt snowball is probably the most effective yet the hardest to implement."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of stock carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Collecting Medals as an Investment

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If you are a keen amateur military historian and you are looking for a good way to invest money, medal collecting might be an ideal place to start. Think for a moment about the economics of it; most of us will never win, let alone own a Victoria Cross, only 1356 have ever been awarded.

This means scarcity, Victoria Crosses, George Crosses, Burma Stars and Military Crosses are rare, they weren't handed out during wartime for anything other than acts of supreme courage and sacrifice, and their rarity is the key to their value. If you add this to the fact that many of the medals tell a story of their own, this is another reason they are sought after. A medal can often tell a piece of history and if the details of who it was awarded to and why are known it becomes more valuable.

How does one become a medal collector? Well firstly make sure you know all about the campaign it was awarded in, you might want to focus on a particular part of military history such as the Italian Campaign during World War Two. The more you know, the more likely you will be to spot a potential fake, and to be able to judge the medal's worth.

The HM Stationary Office has published a guide to medals, stars and crosses, and in fairness the different medals, clasps and ribbons that are awarded are quite complex. Getting hold of this guide is a very important place to start, you will not stand a chance of profiting from collecting unless you are absolutely clear about what you are buying.

The next thing to look at is finding a place to buy medals from. There are registered dealers of militaria, normally based in London but sometimes also in large army towns as well. The internet is a good place to look as well, however be careful to make sure you can verify what you are buying, EBay might be a convenient marketplace but there is nothing to stop anyone from selling counterfeit or stolen medals.

There are medals fairs that take place across the country, you can find out about them in medal collecting magazines and on medal collecting websites online, you are more likely to find reputable dealers at such events, but the following precautions should prevent you from being hoodwinked.

If you can make sure you can look at the medal in person before you pay for it. On the rim should be the name and service number of the man who it was awarded to. The National Archives has a register of medals and you can cross check the medal and the service number which should tell you whether you have a fake or not, and what the story of the medal is.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Orders, Medals and Research Society and the National Archives are all excellent places to start your research, many collectors limit their enquiries to one particular regiment or division, once again, to build up a degree of expertise. Membership of the British Medal Society is also a good idea, you will have access to a wealth of expertise and knowledge and once again be able to access reputable dealers.

If you buy a medal and you find out who it was issued to and why this will affect the price. Medals given to officers are generally more valuable than ones awarded to private soldiers. Equally medals given to front line regiments have more value than those issued to corps regiments. Being as thorough as possible will add significantly to the value of your investment.

In some instances the service records and service histories of medal recipients has been more valuable to museums and to collectors than the medals themselves, so a little investigative work could indeed go a long way, which is the best kind of investment of all; there is nothing quite as satisfying as adding value to an asset through your own efforts and hard work.

James McHeggins is the content writer at JustRemortgages.com a UK website which tracks down all the latest remortgage rates and remortgage deals so our customers don't have to.

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