Outrageous Market Predictions 2014

Australian Investment Education Outrageous Market Predictions for 2014. Over the course of the year, we add a variety of topics to our article banks. Typically this provides us 20 plus areas to consider and then we drop this list down into the dirty dozen. These are the key markets or instruments we trade, plus a couple of additional mainstream interest pieces like Bitcoin, Facebook and so on. One of the big competitive advantages we have over most traders, is our own in house team of analysts and sales traders so a couple of chats and lunches with the guys, often reveals some absolute gems, in terms of core trading points and views. This year, the 12 areas we are looking at in Outrageous Predictions 2014 are as follows: Facebook The World’s leading social media company has flexed its muscles this year. Breaking the stigma of its listing and languishing share price. China The outlook for China and its rampant economic growth has been the source of much controversy amongst market participants, traders, research analysts and just about anyone else out there. Exchange Traded Funds ETFs have been a massive growth area for traders and investors who are looking to isolate or invest in particular scenarios and opportunities. The Australian Banking Sector 2013 has been all about finding yield and as a result, the Aussie Big Four banking stocks have been major beneficiaries of their dividend policy. US Economy The world’s largest economy forms the mainstay of any economic forecast and outlook for markets. QE is its $85bn a month habit – how is this working for the US, what is in store for the new year and where will we be looking to bank profits? Australian Economy Our domestic economy has shown several colours in 2013 – from doom and despair to opportunity and profit. There have been a variety of factors behind this and several which will carry into 2014. Australian and US dollars The relationship between this pair is critical from a trade and traders’ perspective. With the big variation to date in economic activity and interest rate cycles setting the current framework, it looks increasingly likely that the tide is about to turn. Apple There is no question that Apple’s business is changing – it had to. With change always comes risk, and always comes opportunity. Crude Oil We try our best to find alternatives but it is almost impossible to live without it! Oil has been one of the most interesting markets this year. BHP Billiton Iron ore isn’t exciting, its not pretty, its not cutting edge but it is the backbone of what has been propping up the Aussie economy. Gold In terms of price, gold really has had a year to forget. As the saying goes, the past is history, the future a mystery and the present is a gift. Bitcoin No 2014 outlook would be complete without a look at Bitcoin – doubter or believer, what is the story with this overnight phenomena – marketing hype or commercial success?

"Whitefield-Madrano ... examines the relationship between appearance and science, social media, sex, friendship, language, and advertising to show how beauty actually affects us day to day. Through ... research and interviews with dozens of women across all walks of life, she reveals surprising findings, like that wearing makeup can actually relax you, that you can convince people you're better looking just by tweaking your personality, and the ways beauty can be a powerful tool of connection among women"--Amazon.com.

Investing For Dummies, 7th Edition (9781118884928) is now being published as Investing For Dummies, 7th Edition (9781119293347). While this version features an older Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the new release and should not be considered a different product. Invest in your financial future with this valuable, popular, and easy-to-use guide This latest edition of Investing For Dummies is infused with new and updated material to help you ramp up your portfolio today! This includes time-tested advice, updates to investing recommendations, and strategies that reflect changing market conditions. Investing may be an intimidating prospect, but this resource will serve as your primer on all aspects of the topic, including how to develop and manage a portfolio, invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate, open a small business, and understand the critical tax implications of your investing decisions. Updates have been made to sections on investing resources, health insurance, retirement planning, and investment options, among others. Investing For Dummies, 7th Edition will help ease you into investing confidently. Dive into the new content to get sage advice regardless of where you are in your investment planning stage—beginning to develop plans, investing through a company 401(k), or seeking to shore up your nest egg prior to retirement, this book covers it all. Addresses all aspects of investing, including how to develop and manage a portfolio that includes various investment instruments Features expanded and updated coverage on investing resources, retirement planning, tax laws, investment options, and real estate Offers time-tested advice and strategies from Eric Tyson, a nationally-recognized personal finance counselor and bestselling author If you're looking to get sound guidance and trusted investment strategies, Investing For Dummies sets you up to take control of your investment options.

“Michael Gross’s new book…packs [in] almost as many stories as there are apartments in the building. The Jackie Collins of real estate likes to map expressions of power, money and ego… Even more crammed with billionaires and their exploits than 740 Park” (Penelope Green, The New York Times). With two concierge-staffed lobbies, a walnut-lined library, a lavish screening room, a private sixty-seat restaurant offering residents room service, a health club complete with a seventy-foot swimming pool, penthouses that cost almost $100 million, and a tenant roster that’s a roll call of business page heroes and villains, Fifteen Central Park West is the most outrageously successful, insanely expensive, titanically tycoon-stuffed real estate development of the twenty-first century. In this “stunning” (CNN) and “deliciously detailed” (Booklist, starred review) New York Times bestseller, journalist Michael Gross turns his gimlet eye on the new-money wonderland that’s sprung up on the southwest rim of Central Park. Mixing an absorbing business epic with hilarious social comedy, Gross “takes another gossip-laden bite out of the upper crust” (Sam Roberts, The New York Times), whichincludes Denzel Washington, Sting, Norman Lear, top executives, and Russian and Chinese oligarchs, to name a few. And he recounts the legendary building’s inspired genesis, costly construction, and the flashy international lifestyle it has brought to a once benighted and socially déclassé Manhattan neighborhood. More than just an apartment building, 15CPW represents a massive paradigm shift in the lifestyle of New York’s rich and famous—and is a bellwether of the city’s changing social and financial landscape.

The Great British Entrepreneur's Handbook shares the secrets of experienced entrepreneurs on everything from coming up with great business ideas to the value of old-fashioned networking and how to raise funds - whether courting VCs and other investors or seeking out new sources of crowd finance. With wit and wisdom, the personalities behind some of the leading firms and bestselling business books of today guide budding entrepreneurs through all the highs and lows of what it takes to be a business success.

This insightful and invaluable guide reveals how anyone can get a positively outrageous price for their company. Selling something that you’ve poured money, energy, and incalculable amounts of time into is tough enough. Getting anything less than the maximum you deserve in return for all your work is unjustifiable. You deserve to squeeze every dollar you can when it comes time to hand the reins over to the lucky investor who wants to profit from all your back-breaking groundwork. In Sell Your Business for an Outrageous Price, you will discover how to: Prepare their companies and themselves for sale Recognize the best time to go to market Identify, attract, and motivate deep-pocketed buyers Determine their company's competitive advantage and leverage it for the best offer Find a transaction advisor with the skills and experience to guide them through the MA jungle Foil buyers' attempts to undermine sale price Featuring real-life case studies and an appendix of indispensable tools--including due diligence lists, sample nondisclosure agreements, a sales readiness assessment, and a sample engagement letter--this book reveals what you need to do so you can get paid!

“Wise counsel for a constructive, tough-minded, and sensible foreign policy. Read and learn.” —GEORGE SHULTZ, U.S. Secretary of State, 1982–1989 The world is tipping into chaos. Why? In this acclaimed and influential book, Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist Bret Stephens shows how the retreat of American power, orchestrated by Barack Obama, has created the power vacuums now being filled by our enemies. From Vladimir Putin’s quest to restore the old czarist empire, to China’s efforts to dominate the South China Sea, to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, to ISIS’s dreams of an Islamic caliphate, we have entered an era in which our foes no longer fear us and our friends no longer trust us. With his stylistic flair and analytical brilliance, Stephens explains the ideological roots of Obama’s suspicions of American power. He demonstrates how a false belief in Ameri­can decline has led to a disastrous prescription of retreat, as if the cure for domestic weak­ness is international weakness. In a prophetic chapter, he warns of what the world could look like in 2019 if we do not change course. And he lays out the right formula for U.S. foreign policy—the same formula that brought order to our once crime-ridden streets. America in Retreat is shaping the greatest foreign policy debate of our decade.

In early 2012, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed that Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student who advocated for insurance coverage of contraceptives, "wants to be paid to have sex." Over the next few days, Limbaugh attacked Fluke personally, often in crude terms, while a powerful backlash grew, led by organizations such as the National Organization for Women. But perhaps what was most notable about the incident was that it wasn't unusual. From Limbaugh's venomous attacks on Fluke to liberal radio host Mike Malloy's suggestion that Bill O'Reilly "drink a vat of poison... and choke to death," over-the-top discourse in today's political opinion media is pervasive. Anyone who observes the skyrocketing number of incendiary political opinion shows on television and radio might conclude that political vitriol on the airwaves is fueled by the increasingly partisan American political system. But in The Outrage Industry Jeffrey M. Berry and Sarah Sobieraj show how the proliferation of outrage-the provocative, hyperbolic style of commentary delivered by hosts like Ed Schultz, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity- says more about regulatory, technological, and cultural changes, than it does about our political inclinations. Berry and Sobieraj tackle the mechanics of outrage rhetoric, exploring its various forms such as mockery, emotional display, fear mongering, audience flattery, and conspiracy theories. They then investigate the impact of outrage rhetoric-which stigmatizes cooperation and brands collaboration and compromise as weak-on a contemporary political landscape that features frequent straight-party voting in Congress. Outrage tactics have also facilitated the growth of the Tea Party, a movement which appeals to older, white conservatives and has dragged the GOP farther away from the demographically significant moderates whose favor it should be courting. Finally, The Outrage Industry examines how these shows sour our own political lives, exacerbating anxieties about political talk and collaboration in our own communities. Drawing from a rich base of evidence, this book forces all of us to consider the negative consequences that flow from our increasingly hyper-partisan political media.