Mahant!

Clearly, luck is a state of mind . Is it more than that? To explore this question scientifically, experimental psychologist Richard Wiseman created a "luck lab" at the University of Hertfordshire in England. Wiseman began by testing whether those who believe they are lucky are actually more likely to win the lottery. He recruited 700 subjects who had intended to purchase lottery tickets to complete his luck questionnaire, which is a self-report scale that measures whether people consider themselves to be lucky or unlucky. Although lucky people were twice as confident as the unlucky ones that they would win the lottery, there was no difference in winnings. Wiseman then gave subjects a standardized "life satisfaction" scale, which asks individuals to rank themselves on how satisfied they are with their family life, personal life, financial situation, health and career. The results were striking. "Lucky people are far more satisfied with all areas of their lives t...

By Gary Duncan LACK of financial understanding among households may have led them to take on unintended risks in a way that threatens an “ unprecedented ” backlash should prices for shares or other investments tumble, the IMF’s chief markets official told governments and regulators. Gerd Häusler said that the use of complex credit derivatives had allowed a welcome spreading of financial risks from banks to a much wider range of institutions and, in turn, to households, making the financial system as a whole more resilient. However, he gave warning that this “brave new world” meant that households in developed economies may be shouldering greater risks than they generally understand through their investments in financial products and institutions. Herr Häusler compared the situation to an “implicit Faustian pact”, in which retail investors paid a hidden, but huge potential price for the more obvious benefits of bigger returns than they would otherwise receive. “The household sector is ...

The troy ounce is the traditional unit of weight for precious metals. One troy ounce = 31.1035 grams. 32.1507 troy oz = 1 kilogram.

Active Delivery Month: The quoted Delivery Month on the most frequently traded futures contract on a Futures exchange. Assay: Test of precious metal purity or fineness. Assay mark: The stamp placed by an assayer on a precious metal product as a guarantee of its fineness. Assay office: An organisation setting and monitoring the fineness of precious metals in a particular country Backwardation: Market scenario when the spot price of a commodity is higher than the forward price. Bullion: Precious metals such as platinum, palladium, gold and silver in bulk form, i.e. in the form of bars, ingots or plate rather than in coin, grain or sponge. Contango: Market scenario when the forward price of a commodity is higher than the spot price. In the precious metal markets this is the result of monetary interest rates being greater than precious metal lease rates. Fineness: The proportion of precious metal in a product or alloy typically expressed as parts in 1,000. Grain: Granules of metal...

Adit: A passage driven into a mine from a hill or mountainside. Alluvial deposits: Material, typically sands and gravels, transported by a river and deposited at points on the river’s flood plain. These deposits can contain economically viable mineral resources. Bench: A ledge created in an open pit, which forms the surface for extraction. The size of the bench will reflect the strength of the rock, stability of adjacent slopes, pit economics and the machinery employed. By-product: Material of some economic value produced in a process which is focused on extracting another material. Concentrating: The process of separating milled ore into two streams; one greatly enriched in the valuable mineral (concentrate) and another of waste material (tailings). Decline: An inclined shaft used to transport workers, materials and ore to and from the underground working area in a mine. Disseminated: Term applied to ore deposits consisting of fine grains of ore mineral dispersed throu...

Consider the role of money first. Ask non-economists, “What is economics?” and they will often reply that it is “all about money”. Yet the odd thing is that the standard academic models used by most economists ignore money altogether. Inflation instead depends simply on the amount of spare capacity in the economy. Nor does the money supply play any role in monetary policy in most countries, notably America. Alan Greenspan's last ten speeches as chairman of the Federal Reserve contained not a single use of the word “money”. Yet Milton Friedman's dictum that “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” is still borne out by the facts. The chart plots the rate of inflation and broad money-supply growth in 40 economies over the past 30 years. In the long run, countries with faster monetary growth have experienced higher inflation. So why are central banks (except the ECB) paying so little attention to money? The problem is that over short periods the link between the ...

Part 1 Part2 Part3 Part4 Part5 Part6 Part7 Part8 :) Falkor

Hype TV CNBC is owned by General Electric, a company that seeks to make profits for its shareholders. CNBC will do whatever they can to keep their ratings up, which means their coverage will coincide with the universe of momentum investors. Viewers want to hear stories about a “hot stock” or “hot sector”, not about the wisdom of buying distressed assets or keeping money on the sidelines. When the market happens to be down across all sectors, CNBC and Wall Street cooperate in promoting a specific industry by informing the world of various upgrades. When tech runs, the hype machine trots out biotech. When biotech starts to get choppy, the machine trots out financials. And on and on it goes. http://www.kitco.com/ind/Texashedge/apr042006.html Dollar and India As China arrives on the global scene, not dependent on any other nation, nor controlled by any, it has some basic decisions to make for its own future. It can bow its head and fit in or develop pragmatically in the face of a crowded g...

:) Falkor

1. Diversification Quote: You don't want to learn the same lesson again with a different asset class Unquote: Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing. 2. Low Correlation Quote: Low correlation means that different asset types have not performed in the same way Unquote: Which way should we incline? Reason cannot answer. 3. Patience Quote: My favorite time frame for holding a stock is forever. Throughout all my years of investing I've found that the big money was never made in the buying or the selling. The big money was made in the waiting. Unquote: While we stop and think, we often miss our opportunity 4. Purity Quote: Gentlemen prefer bonds. Unquote: Stock-picking is like gambling: those who win well, seldom bet, but when they do, they bet heavily. 5. Lose Your Overweight Quote: Shoot the loser and buy more winners If a kite can just catch the breeze, how high can it go... Unquote: Diversification may preserve wealt...

by Joseph Granville, editor, The Granville Market Letter I have in my library a two-volume edition of The Inman Diary, by Arthur Inman, who had lived from 1895 to 1963. It was published in 1985 by the Harvard University Press. Since he was 34 years old at the time of the 1929 crash, Inman's diary entries that year were not only fascinating insights, but typical of a stock trader who wanted to be a millionaire in a hurry and what happened in a very brief period of time. perhaps my quoting him now will help some young trader with similar get-rich-quick ambitions before he loses everything in the current crashing market: October 4th: What a day yesterday. Market broke precipitately. Lost thirteen thousand, the largest drop since the eighteen thousand drop. Down to between twelve and twenty-seven thousand. Been selling all morning. Sold short on several things to see if that would rally the Market. Am afraid of a panic. If I fear, others must fear. Ergo: I sell. If Market rallies, I ...

http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/articles_story.cfm?id=47669 :) Falkor

The results that come from the herding instinct can sometimes come from active choice to follow a particular group or style, it most often comes from subconscious choice, choices one makes without even being aware of it. The herding instinct in humans manifests in a number of ways. Three of the largest/most evident manifestations are in: Buying and selling goods and services, Buying and selling financial assets, and In religio-cultural group affiliation and practice. ***** Emotional and cognitive biases seem to be the causes of stock market bubbles. But, often, when the phenomenon appears, pundits try to find a rationale, so as not to be against the crowd. Thus, sometimes, people will dismiss concerns about overpriced markets by citing a new economy where the old stock valuation rules may no longer apply. This type of thinking helps to further propagate the bubble whereby everyone is investing with the intent of finding a greater fool. ***** The bandwagon effect is the observation that...

"We all think that way. Don't bother asking why. All we need say Is we know that it's true, What's the matter with you? Consensus doesn't lie. Now give it one more try, And make your thinking correct." by DC Dave :) Falkor

Mania is a medical condition characterised by severely elevated mood . Mania is most usually associated with bipolar disorder, where episodes of mania may cyclically alternate with episodes of depression. Although "severely elevated mood" sounds pleasant, the experience of mania is usually unpleasant and sometimes frightening for the person involved and may lead to impulsive behavior that may later be regretted. It can also often be complicated by the sufferer's lack of judgment and insight regarding periods of exacerbation of symptoms. Manic patients [may we say investors/ traders] are frequently grandiose, irritable, belligerent, and frequently deny anything is wrong with them. Because mania frequently encourages high energy and decreased perception of need or ability to sleep, within a few days of a manic cycle, sleep-deprived psychosis may appear, further complicating the ability to think clearly. Racing thoughts and misperceptions lead to frustration and decreased...

Excerpts from an excellent article by Lambert Gann people: One of the fundamental weaknesses of human beings is our desire to 'get rich quick'. On the one hand, our head tells us to be cautious. We know that there are few genuine rewards to be gained in life without hard work. On the other hand, something inside us makes us want to chase the quick big bucks. Wherever there is a desire to make 'easy' money, there are unscrupulous people who will relieve greedy people of their hard-earned money. Collectively, these people comprise the 'temple of boom'! One key to being able to survive and prosper is awareness. We are less likely to make crazy decisions based on greed or fear if we are aware of how human beings behave when influenced by crowd behaviour, and how this behaviour tends to be consistent over time. We are also less likely to become the victim of con artists if we have a basic awareness of the techniques they use to lure their victims. The second key is d...