Saturday, July 28, 2007

Give Back Time

After barely breaching the 14,000 point, within six trading sessions the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to bring traders to their knees and have the press discussing the carnage on Wall Street. For the week, the DJIA managed to give back 734.94 points and closed at 13,265.47, which is a 5.24% decline. Of course the DJIA was not alone in its pain, as the Standard and Poor's 500 surrendered 79.33 points to close at 1,473.17 and cough up 5.1% of its value, and the NASDAQ relinquished 5.5% or 150 points, to end the week at 2,562.24. All and all, not a very good week for the indices, as the bears surely trashed the recent party.

Earlier in the week, we spoke of the possibility of more selling, which would not necessarily be a bad thing. This market has not seen a 10% decline, which is considered a correction and generally thought to be a positive occurrence, since this bull run began. Of course no decline in the market comes without some pain for investors, but as the saying goes, "no pain, no gain". Should this be the beginning of a correction, the DJIA would have to fall to 12,600, the S&P 500 to 1,397 and the NASDAQ to 2,441 to register a 10% decline. If this were to occur, it would be painful, but only the S&P 500 would actually be down for the year, as the DJIA and NASDAQ would still be slightly above their January 2007 levels.

What makes this drop particularly intriguing is the fact that we are at a point in the economic cycle, where most economists are expecting about 2.5% GDP growth, which would indicate this is just a bump in the road. However, as we discussed here before, the average economic cycle since 1945 has lasted 67 months, which we have surpassed now in this cycle. With housing and the mortgage debacle weighing on economy, the possibility exists this current economic cycle could be closer to the average, and not like the last two economic cycles we've experienced. So, what do you do about the uncertainty? Swings in the prices of your investments are only paper gains or losses until you sell and lock in the gain or loss. My suggestion is to continue to diversify your holdings, and hope this cycle is another record!

John Kaighn

Jersey Benefits Advisors

Plug in Profit Site

Internet Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

No Housing Bottom In Sight

Market Update

On Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 226.47 points, primarily on earnings news from mortgage lenders, and in particular Countrywide Financial Corp. The company said it doesn't expect the mortgage business to recover until 2009, and that gave traders reason enough to dump shares. While my expectation is traders will jump back into the market today, we also have to remember there has not been a major correction in this market yet, so anything is possible. The biggest fear is the deflating of the housing market will chill the consumer's willingness to spend, due to a perception of less personal wealth caused by lower equity in their homes. If the consumer pulls back on spending, profits at corporations take a hit and that is not good for the market.

Email Aesthetics

It`s an old, old saying, but it`s true: you only have one
chance to make a good first impression. And in email, the
first impression is always visual -- a consumer LOOKS/SEES
before he/she READS.

Imagine walking by a grotesquely garish storefront with all
kinds of things hanging off the front porch, every floor
painted a different color, and odd music playing through
loudspeakers. Would you want to walk in the front door? No
way! You`d assume that the owner is a kook, at best, or a
deranged axe murderer, at worst.

Did you ever have an ugly looking email land in your
mailbox? You know what I`m talking about: an orange
background and yellow borders, multi-colored text in all
sizes from gigantic to microscopic, a message that looks like
it was created by a crazed six-year-old? If you did, I bet
you didn`t feel the urge to read it. You probably just
wanted to delete it as quickly as possible.

=> PUT OUT THE WELCOME MAT
You want your email message to be friendly and inviting, not
bizarre and scary. The suggestions below -- and they`re
just suggestions, not hard and fast rules -- will go a long
way towards making recipients` eyes say "come on in!" to
your message.

=> DO`s and DON`Ts FOR ATTRACTIVE EMAILS

-DON`T use COLOR fonts in your message. (Leave that to
junior high girls who want to write about Britney and
Justin)

-DO use BLACK TEXT ON A WHITE BACKGROUND. (When you`re
"speaking" in black-and-white, people will give their full
attention to your message without being distracted by your
color scheme.)

-DON`T use UNCOMMON FONTS. (If someone`s system doesn`t
recognize the font you`ve selected, they could see gibberish
instead of your brilliant message).

-DO use the email marketers` FAVORITE FONTS: Arial, Times
New Roman, and Courier New

And please.

-DON`T use flashing buttons or banners in your email! (Your
prospects have undoubtedly gotten their fill of "bells and
whistles" when they`ve surfed the Internet. They don`t need
more from you.)

=> GET HYPER" WITH EMAIL HYPERLINKS

An "email hyperlink" is just techno-talk for a link in your
email to a website, or email address. Sounds simple enough,
and it is -- unless you try to contact a prospect on AOL who
may not be able to receive "clickable" links.

Don`t worry. There`s a "fix" for this: simply type mailto:
in front of your email address (no space in between, and
include the : )

For a link to a web page, you need to write your link this
way: href=http://www.anycompany.com>http://www.anycompany.com
. (And tell your recipient they can copy and paste this
link into their browser if it`s not highlighted.)

=> ALWAYS USE SIGNATURE TAGS

Today, it`s common practice on the Internet to tell people
about your product or service with a SIGNATURE TAG, which is
3-6 lines of text (usually) that is automatically added to
every message you send.

If you`d like to add a tag to your messages, simply open
your email program. Find the SIGNATURES TAB (located in the
TOOLS/OPTIONS menu in Outlook Express). Follow the (simple)
instructions for creating a sig file. Easy as pie...and the
results will amaze you.

That`s it for now, but get your "net" ready. Next lesson
we`re going to hunt down and CAPTURE EMAILS.

Sincerely,

John Kaighn

Jersey Benefits Advisors

Plug in Profit Site

Internet Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

Monday, July 23, 2007

Market Update

After a quick perusal of the Wall Street Journal this morning, I counted no less than four articles relating to the subprime mortgage mess. When you consider the damage done to the two Bear Stearn's hedge funds, by leveraging their purchases of securities consisting of subprime mortgage debt, you can understand why the media is all over this one. According to an article by Alan Abelson in Barrons, the combined total of the losses in these two funds is approximatey $20 billion. What is even more eye popping is the amount of leverage used. As of March 2007, the two funds had a total of $1.5 billion in investor money, and with those funds were able to purchase assets, some long and some short, which were valued at $20 billion. By June 30, 2007, after a bail out by Bear Stearns, the less leveraged High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund had about $1.6 billion in value left, while its sibling, the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund was wiped out.

On a brighter note, the Dow Jones Industrial Average cracked the 14,000 level by .41 of a point on Thursday, only to give back 149.3 points on Friday as investors fretted about corporate earnings. The Standard and Poor's 500 also closed in record territory on Thursday at 1,553.08, but also retrenched 18.98 points on Friday. At just past mid year, the Dow is up 11.14% and the S&P 500 is up 8.16% year to date. The NASDAQ is also up 11.27% so far this year, and many bulls feel the indices still have some strength left as speculation, evidenced by small investor trading, is practically nonexistent.

While economic growth has accelerated recently, core inflation in the CPI has been muted. The Federal Reserve is still somewhat uncertain about the direction of inflation, as demonstrated by the statement, "sustained moderation hasn't been convincingly demonstrated". Recently, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics issued new research, which suggests a slowdown in home ownership costs, in particular owner equvalent rent (OER), which is a measure how much a homeowner would receive for renting his home. OER makes up approximately 24% of the CPI, and the slowdown in housing has resulted in more homes being rented, which restrains the rate of increase in rents. If this new research holds up, then we could conceivable see more benign inflation statistics going forward. Now, if we could only find a way to restrain the rate of increase of the non-core components: FOOD and ENERGY!

John Kaighn is a Registered Investment Advisor with Jersey Benefits Advisors and writes articles on various business and investment information, ideas and opportunities. For more information about this and other topics you can visit Jersey Benefits Advisors and Internet Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

Friday, July 13, 2007

Dow Sets New Record

As I mentioned on Monday, earnings season is upon us, as public companies release their quarterly earnings reports and guidance for the upcoming quarter. So far, investors seem to like the guidance they are receiving, because the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed to a new high of 13,861.73, gaining 283.86 points on the day. This was the best one day gain for the index in four years. Mergers and acquisition activity, as well as solid retail sales and lower crude oil prices helped fuel the buying. The Standard and Poor's 500 also posted a record close of 1,547.70 gaining 29 points, while the NASDAQ added 49 points to close at 2,701.73.

The Bush Administration released its midsession budget review on Wednesday, and the estimates are that the budget deficit should be $205 billion for for 2007, which is better that 50% less than the deficit in 2004, which was $413 billion. While those numbers may seem astronomical, it is important to note that they represent 1.5% of the total share of the economy. This is well below the 40 year average budget deficit of 2.4%. The Congressional Budget Office says tax collections are so strong, that the deficit could actually be under $200 billion by years end.

One reason for this strength in tax revenue is due to the tax cuts in 2003 on investment. While tax cuts take some time to work their way into the economy, the main reason the deficit is shrinking is due to increased tax revenues. Federal tax receipts have increased nearly $700 billion since 2004, which is the largest ever tax revenue gain over a similar period of time. Going forward, the biggest risk to continued deficit reduction is not the war on terror, but rather the potential economic slowdown due to protectionist policies on trade.

John Kaighn is a Registered Investment Advisor with Jersey Benefits Advisors and writes articles on various business and investment information, ideas and opportunities. For more information about this and other topics you can visit Jersey Benefits Advisors and Internet Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

Monday, July 9, 2007

It's Earnings Season, Again!

Investors will be eyeing second quarter earnings reports over the next few weeks to get a feel for the health of corporate profits, which will set the tone for the direction of the stock market. Last week's employment numbers were better than expected, which shows the economy is still humming along. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.5%, nonfarm payrolls rose by 132,000 in June, while the April and May numbers were revised upward by a combined 75,000 jobs.

During the holiday shortened week, the the market stayed in a tight trading range, as crude oil moved above $76 a barrel. Even with oil prices moving upward, gasoline prices have been holding steady, due to the fact that inventories have been higher than expected. Treasury yields also inched up to 5.19%, but the increase didn't seem to spook the market. For the market to resume its upward trend, earnings are going to have to meet or exceed forcasts, and the guidance by companies will be scrutinized extensively.

John Kaighn is a Registered Investment Advisor with Jersey Benefits Advisors and writes articles on various business and investment information, ideas and opportunities. For more information about this and other topics you can visit Internet Home Business Ideas and Opportunities and Jersey Benefits Advisors

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Reciprocal Review Carousel

Reciprocal Review Carousel
Category: Blogging

Do you want to get some extra visitors to your blog and increase your link popularity at the same time? I am sure the answer to this question is probably a resounding Yes!. Read on to find out how you can quickly and easily use this viral technique...

Bill Shultz, a fellow Internet Marketer and Plug-In Profit site owner told me about this technique, which Jack Humphrey calls linking on steroids! It's an effective way to post quality content to your blog and get lots of links back at the same time.

All you need to do to join in is follow the instructions below:

---copy and paste the Reciprocal Review Carousel and instructions below this line ---

The Reciprocal Review Carousel idea is based on a few simple yet effective link-building and blogging techniques I have learned:

Build value of the blog by creating a helpful link from within content.

Provide value to community by doing a review on a blog you personally like.

Link to YOUR blog has exact anchor text you want and helps you boost Google Rankings.

No more than 30 outbound links from any page to prevent penalties for link farming.

Viral effect of the link as more bloggers participate, link to your blog with YOUR anchor text, coming from quality content post will spread.

Here is How to participate:

Copy the entire text between the specified lines.

Create a post on your site and put at least one paragraph explaining how you joined the Reciprocal Review Carousel.

Paste the text you copied into your post.

Remove the Bottom Review and At the Top add your own review with a link to a site reviewed, at least 2 sentences about the site and a note Reviewed by: Your Anchor Text.

Link your anchor text to your site. Here is an example:

WordPress Web 2.0 Guide is a blog providing very useful information on building your very own Web 2.0 portal based on WordPress. Detailed instructions and howto guides make it possible for anyone to create a sparkling and engaging blog and join the community of like-minded individuals. Reviewed by: WordPress Web 2.0 Spot-er

Sites Reviewed:

Bill Shultz's Blog, PipelineIncomes.com is a regularly updated blog which strives to give information about internet home business opportunities to people interested in developing a home business. It is informative and provides links to many business opportunities on the internet. Nice job of incorporating the blog into your site, Bill. Reviewed by John Kaighn for the Jersey Benefits Blog and The Kaighn Report which provide information for entrepreneurs in the areas of investments, finance and Education.

Carl Hendricks Home Based Business Prosperity is a well-established blog where you can find multitude of information on Internet Marketing and blogging. Carl's blog is jam packed with helpful tips and ideas to help you with your online business. Reviewed by: Bill Shultz for his Pipeline Incomes blog.

Gamy Rachel has a blog - Make A Living Honestly that provides readers with methods of being profitable online while mainitaining the highetst levels of integrity. You will find helpful advice on article marketing, working from home and quality affiliate programs. You will find ways to develop a robust home based business Reviewed by: Carl Hendricks Home Based Business Prosperity.

Wolney H Filho's Work at Home Online blog provides lots of tips and advice for people who want to start a work at home business. Wolney has over 10 years of networking experience and regularly updates his blog to give you the latest ideas on how to work at home online and how to promote your website. Reviewed by Suzanne Morrison for her Internet Business Ideas blog.

Dean's Home Business Reporter is a WordPress blog of an associate whom helped I setup another blog for just a short time ago. Yet in this short time Dean has learned the power of blogging and has installed a new blog on his own that is shaping up to be a great resource for those looking for work at home business opportunities. Reviewed by Jeff Houdyschell @ Work At Home BusinessBlog

Jeff Houdyschell's Work At Home Business Blog is loaded with all the information you might need to know about the work at home business industry. It is designed to be easy to find what you are looking for and what he has to offer. Jeff also offers a very unique personalized WordPress Installation Service at a very affordable cost. I have used this service. I will highly recommend Jeff to any one that wants a blog installed on their own domain. Check him out you won't be sorry.Reviewed by: Dean@Dean's Home Business Reporter

Suzanne Morrison's Internet Home Business Ideas Blog is an excellent Blog. She can help you to make a full time income from the internet. She is part of the Plug-In Profit Site team and her blog is frequently updated with Internet home business ideas, product reviews and suggestions for and promoting your website. Reviewed by Wolney H Filho, the work at home online blog.

Mal Keenan's Internet Marketing Blog is a frequently updated blog on everything pertaining to the world of internet marketing and home business. He includes plenty of internet marketing tips and techniques in his blog and also reviews the latest internet marketing products. Unlike some marketers who recommend every product under the sun, Mal has a very honest approach to his reviews and only recommends products that have actually worked for him. Reviewed by Suzanne Morrison for her Internet Business Ideas blog

Jeff Schuman's make money blog is one of those blogs that I visit often. Jeff has become an expert in achieiving top search engine rankings for some of the most competitive ‘making money online’ keyword phrases. Reviewed by Mal Keenan's Internet Marketing blog.

Jeff Casmer's Work At Home Blog is an excellent blog that ties in well with his top rated work at home directory. He works hard at helping people and his blog is updated reguarly with information that is timely to help you work from home and earn money. Reviewed by: Jeff Schuman for his make money blog to help people make more money and get more traffic.

Jack Humphrey's blog The Friday Traffic Report is just another in a long line of things I read when it is done by Jack. Of course his Power Linking and Authority Black Book are just two examples of the tremendous information he provides. He blogs now about Web 2.0 and social marketing and if you are looking for tips to get more traffic you should check it out and subscribe to his feed. Reviewed by: Jeff Schuman for his make money blog to help people make more money and get more traffic.

Peter Lenkefi writes about Web 2.0 marketing strategies at Web2Center.com. He has some killer videos over there you should check out along with a ton of good information on blog marketing and various “new media” promotion tactics. Reviewed by: Link Building Maniac, Jack Humphrey, for the Friday Traffic Report


--- copy and paste the Reciprocal Review Carousel and instructions above this line ---

To summarize, you just need to copy everything between the two lines and then remove the review at the bottom and add your review of someone else's blog at the top!

Hopefully this will bring you some top quality links and traffic.

John Kaighn

Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

Jersey Benefits Advisors