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May 30, 2012
spread betting
If you've never come across the words 'spread betting' in a financial sense, you would probably be forgiven for thinking that it has something to do with bookies and sporting events.

So what exactly does it entail?
In essence spread betting is a fairly simple concept. It merely entails placing a bet on which way you think a particular market is going to go. If you think the market is going to rise and you have bet on it going up (going long), then when it does you make a profit. If on the other hand you predict that the market is going to fall and you bet on that exact scenario (going short) and it does, then again,you make a profit. When you close your bet you can claim your profit.

Let's put this into a proper scenario...

Okay let's say that we bet on the NASDAQ and based on some recent news we think that it may go up, so we place a 'long' bid. If the index does exactly what we want it to do and rises, then we are in profit. How much profit depends on the spread. For example, say that the index started off life at 100 and it rises to 200. If we close the bet at this point then the spread would be 100. Therefore if we placed a £1.00 bet then we would have made a healthy profit of £100.

Risks
Obviously it isn't all cut and dried and there are definite risks involved in spread betting. For example if you got it horribly wrong and instead of the stocks going up by 100 points, they went down by the same margin, then you would then be 'in the hole' for £100. This can be prevented by placing a stop order should the stocks start to fall beyond a certain point, however it doesn't eliminate the risk altogether. The potential is there to incur heavy losses if you are not careful.

So how easy is a spread betting account to set up?
In essence, setting up a spread betting account online is a fairly simple process. Many of the trading platforms offer spread betting online and will also have demo platforms for you to practice. This is where many people look to dip their toes in the water and it's worthwhile checking out the brokers product spec before opening up a pro spread betting account. Download a practise demo version - it's an ideal starting place if you are looking to learn how to make money out of the stock markets.

Like anything it pays to do your research first before you jump in with both feet as success certainly isn't guaranteed. If you are happy to go ahead and have the funds to do so then spread betting is a great way to earn some extra cash, provided that you understand what you're doing.
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May 09, 2011
Paypal has issued new regulations for its users in India. Here’s what PayPal sent out in its latest email to users in India.


As part of our ongoing effort to comply with the requirements set out in the notification of the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI Guidelines”) that apply to all online payment gateways, all PayPal users in India will be required to add the following to their PayPal account in order to continue to receive export-related payments and withdraw money:

1.A purpose code related to the majority of commercial activities for export-related payments
2.A PAN or Permanent Account Number
3.A bank account in India (if not previously added)


The PAN and Bank account details are for individual users and the Purpose code is for commercial activities. More views and reactions are expected from these new regulations.
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December 08, 2010
Despite falling last week on the heels of a poor jobs report—United States unemployment rose to 9.6% and nonfarm payrolls did not rise as highly as forecasted—the U.S. dollar began to firm up against both the euro and the yen. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke announced in an interview on 60 Minutes that the latest quantitative easing project might go beyond the original $600 billion projection. These factors suggest, then, that even with this short-term gain, the U.S. dollar will continue to weaken, thus creating uncertainty and skittishness on the part of traders as the market finds its way. Long-term positions, then, could be favorable for those trading against the dollar, though this will be a tough bet.

As euro zone finance ministers struggled to protect the euro from the U.S. dollar, Japanese exporters had begun to sell the euro so that they could buy the yen while it remained above 111.000. This happened after the U.S. dollar gained on the yen to reach 82.85 yen over 82.58 yen last week. Likewise, the euro fell on the morning of the 6th of December to 1.3363 U.S. dollars, a slight drop from 1.341 of last week. Only time will tell how these pairs will shift throughout the week, given the upcoming talks regarding Ireland's aid package woes, as well as whether or not the European Union will revamp its budget rules.

So what is the sensible move for early December? Although it's a bit stingy right now, the market could favor the euro after the Irish budget passes and the European Union's aid package goes through for Ireland, though euro investor confidence will slow after that, based on the recent Sentix report that dropped noticeably after a nice rise in November.

This drop in the confidence index could push EUR/USD to a short-term resistance around last Friday's high of 1.3438 or thereabouts, in which case traders might consider selling for a tidy turn around if they can afford it. The recent sharp downturn happened quickly, however, so there's the possibility that corrections might occur in the next few days, so adjust your stop-loss accordingly so you don't get caught out in the open and unprepared.

Those of you following the EUR/USD trends, the job situation in the United States, and Bernanke's quantitative easement plan might consider going on to further do some in-depth research on this matter. Either way, it's definitely an interesting time for the U.S. dollar, the euro, and the yen, which will make for some exciting trading these next few months.

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