The success of great investors generally isn’t due to an ability to predict market movements with 100% accuracy. Rather, their success is generally attributed to preparation; having a plan for any market condition. This series will outline some simple strategies that will help you prepare as the great investors do: First, by protecting investment capital, then by making money in the event of a significant bear market.

Protecting investment capital should always be first priority when investing, especially in potentially tumultuous markets. August, 2011 taught us this lesson once again. Many unprepared investors saw their portfolios fall 10%, 20%, or more within a just a few days. The prepared investor, however, was likely stopped out of his position within the first 5% of the fall, saving himself from the significant loss felt by many others…

Read more at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/359791-how-to-profit-from-a-stock-market-crash-part-i-protect-investment-capital

Read the full series:

1. How To Profit From A Stock Market Crash, Part I: Protect Investment Capital
2. How To Profit From A Stock Market Crash, Part II: Inverse Equity ETFs
3. How To Profit From A Stock Market Crash, Part III: Gold And Related Mining
4. How To Profit From A Stock Market Crash, Part IV: Capitalize On Devaluing Currencies

Let’s start with the numbers. The company, with an expected valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion, is profitable but not as profitable as it should be to put up numbers like that. With a 2011 revenue of $3.8 billion and an operating profit around $1.5 billion, the company has an operating margin of 39.74% (Kapitall); nothing to write home about. Top that off with a price to sales ratio of 19.7 and a price to earnings ratio of 80.0 (Forbes) and I’m even less of a believer.

True, IPO numbers aren’t a perfect predictor of any company’s future. But these numbers are bad, without question, and don’t exactly give Facebook the initial public launching pad investors should be looking for.

So what needs to happen? In an obvious nutshell, Facebook needs to start by increasing revenue, preferably by increasing profit margin. And I’m not confident that they can.

I am a Facebook user myself and I, along with many of its users, genuinely respect the company and appreciate what it has done to change social media, ease of communication, the world, etc. Where would we be without Facebook? (Realistically we’d probably be in the exact same place, writing articles about a similar company by a different name but you get the point.) Facebook, in my opinion, is the Wayne Gretzky of social media. Sure, there were greats before Facebook and there will be others after, but the company changed the game. And for this, like Gretzky, I will continue to respect and appreciate Facebook, from its salad days into its golden years.

I worry for investors, however, that the company may already be on the brink of becoming a legacy social media platform. (Myspace anyone?) If it weren’t for Zynga’s (ZNGA) Words with Friends game I would be on Facebook about ten minutes a day (as a consumer). Decent, but compare this to a year ago when I was spending at least 45 minutes a day on the site. My point is: I’m getting bored. And I doubt I’m the only one.

So, what if Facebook has plateau-ed? How difficult, then, will it be to increase profits? Very difficult, I imagine. And if the poor profits continue I’m curious how the company will react to investor concern. Will drastic actions be taken to increase revenue? If so, will these actions annoy and eventually scare off users like me, in turn decreasing the value of revenue producing products such as advertisements and the like?

“It’s called a changeover. The movie goes on, and nobody in the audience has any idea.” – Fight Club (1999)

I wish the best for Facebook. I truly do hope that the company continues to change our world the way companies like Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) have and continue to do. Who knows? Maybe we’re at Facebook’s changeover and the bright, profit-filled future is just around the corner. Time will tell. But until I see a significant increase in profits or anything else that justifies the company’s $75 billion to $100 billion valuation, I’m sitting this one out.

Read the full article at http://seekingalpha.com/article/322709-15-equities-yielding-10-and-selling-under-book-value-part-i-reits.

Read the full series:

1. 15 Equities Yielding 10%+ And Selling Under Book Value, Part I: REITs
2. 15 Equities Yielding 10%+ And Selling Under Book Value, Part II: Closed-End Funds
3. 15 Equities Yielding 10%+ And Selling Under Book Value, Part III: Others
   

Read the full article at http://seekingalpha.com/article/321465-how-to-improve-your-trading-keeping-a-detailed-trade-log

Forexpros Launches a New Design

Forexpros launches a newly redesigned website that provides improved navigation, an enhanced layout and upgraded features to further enrich the user experience with the utmost simplicity.

CYPRUS, January 10, 2012 – Forexpros, the leading financial web portal, today launched a major redesign of its website. The new design provides enhanced functionality and simplified navigation to ensure that users spend less time navigating and more time accessing the real-time streaming data, news, and in-depth analysis featured on the site. The revamped design promotes Forexpros’ commitment to providing the finest resource on the financial world markets.

Simplicity is a central theme in the changes made to the site. Incorporating enhanced navigation features within a more streamlined layout, the result is a user-friendly site that focuses on accessibility of information and achieves optimal functionality. Whether on the homepage or deep within the Forexpros site, the intuitive navigation features allow users to quickly access the contents of the entire site by ensuring that they are only two-clicks away from all information on Forexpros.

“The goal of the redesign is to simplify user experience,” said Daniel Filson, Forexpros’ UX Manager. “The hover-based navigation provides insight and direct access to what’s featured in each section and the enhanced toolbar offers easy access to the most popular pages on our site. The end result of these changes is more time for users to focus on the information that matters to them.”

In line with the improved navigation, the site features a clutter-free design for enhanced aesthetics. The new layout of the homepage, now visibly wider and cleaner, integrates key information in a simple manner so that now the homepage not only serves as a gateway to Forexpros’ immense resources, but also as a valuable resource itself. Along with the homepage, the News and Opinion sections feature streamlined layouts to bolster the user-friendliness of these sections. The revamped design saves readers time by ensuring they see the articles that matter most to them.

For more information on this launch, visit www.forexpros.com or contact PR@forexpros.com.

About Forexpros

Founded in 2007, Forexpros is a definitive source for tools and information relating to the financial markets such as real-time quotes and streaming charts, up-to-date financial news, technical analysis, brokers directory & listings, an economic calendar, and tools & calculators. The site provides in-depth information on Currencies, Indices & Stocks, Futures and Options, Commodities, and Rates & Bonds.  With a growing readership worldwide, Forexpros is a leading global financial portal that is constantly committed to launching innovative features and sections to ensure an optimal one-stop source for its readers.

More information about Forexpros is found at http://www.forexpros.com/.

The P/B ratio, which compares the market’s valuation of a company to the actual book value of a company, is calculated as:

Price to Book (P/B) = Price per Share/Book Value of Equity

A P/B of less than 1 indicates that a company’s stock is selling for “less than book”; in other words, the market value of a company, determined by its stock price, is less than its actual worth, as indicated by its book value…

Read more at http://seekingalpha.com/article/318226-34-stocks-with-over-10-return-on-equity-selling-for-less-than-book-part-1-basic-materials

Read the entire series:

1. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 1: Basic Materials
2. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 2: Consumer Goods
3. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 3: Financial
4. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 4: Healthcare
5. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 5: Industrial Goods
6. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 6: Services
7. 34 Stocks With Over 10% Return On Equity Selling For Less Than Book, Part 7: Technology

One of my favorite hedging strategies is the tried and true method of investing in dividend-yielding stocks and ETFs. Dividend yielding stocks and ETFs, with their consistent quarterly or sometimes monthly dividend payouts, can add a monetary cushion to the roller coaster ride that can, at times, exemplify our equities markets.

There are many choices when looking for significant yields form dividend stocks. But as I generally do not hold positions for more than a month or two, stocks and ETFs with dividends are paid monthly, instead of their more common quarterly distributing cousins, have become a favorite of mine…

Read more at http://seekingalpha.com/article/317361-59-high-yielding-equities-with-monthly-distributions-part-i-10-to-20-yields.

Read the entire series:

1. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part I: 10% To 20% Yields
2. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part II: 8% To 10% Yields
3. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part III: 7.5% To 8% Yields
4. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part IV: 7% To 7.5% Yields
5. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part V: 6.5% To 7% Yields
6. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part VI: 6% To 6.5% Yields
7. 59 High-Yielding Equities With Monthly Distributions, Part VII: 4% To 6% Yields

To qualify as a REIT, a company must distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders each year. (Many pay out 100% of their taxable income.) As REITs deduct the dividends paid to shareholders, they do not have to pay corporate, federal, or state income tax; instead, this responsibility is passed on to the shareholders.

Other REIT requirements include:

• Structured as a corporation, business trust, or similar association
• Managed by a board of directors or trustees
• Offer fully transferable shares
• Have at least 100 shareholders
• Pay dividends of at least 90% of the REIT’s taxable income
• Have no more than 50% of its shares held by five or fewer individuals during the last half of each taxable year
• Hold at least 75% of total investment assets in real estate
• Have no more than 20% of its assets consist of stocks in taxable REIT subsidiaries
• Derive at least 75% of gross income from rents or mortgage interest

With the volatility that has plagued our markets in the second half of 2011, I and my clients have found some stability in the often significant dividends offered by REITs. These consistent quarterly, or sometimes monthly dividend payments have proven to be a good hedge against more volatile, aggressive investments.

In this seven-part article we will outline the five top yielding REITs of each type, Residential, Diversified, Retail, Healthcare Facilities, Industrial, Office, and Hotel/Motel...

Read more at http://seekingalpha.com/article/315855-35-top-yielding-real-estate-investment-trusts-part-1-residential-reits.

Read the entire series:

1. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 1: Residential REITs
2. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 2: Diversified REITs
3. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 3: Retail REITs
4. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 4: Healthcare Facilities REITs
5. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 5: Industrial REITs
6. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 6: Office REITs
7. 35 Top Yielding Real Estate Investment Trusts, Part 7: Hotel/Motel REITs

This type of analysis may sound anything but groundbreaking in our current, digital trading universe but very few studies, if any, have been executed so thoroughly, with such vast data, and with such attention to detail. The two top performing strategies in this book, considered by many as the Bible of investing, are O’Shaughnessy’s Cornerstone Growth and Cornerstone Value strategies. These two strategies have consistently yielded strong returns and, not surprisingly, have been used by investment firms, mutual funds, and portfolio managers around the world…

Read the full article at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/313190-10-high-yielding-dividend-stocks-and-10-growth-stocks-for-your-2012-portfolio

Some like using options, which offer versatility, liquidity, leverage, and, most importantly in our case, the ability to bet against an equity. But there is some in-depth knowledge required when executing an options trade, knowledge that is above and beyond what is required to simply buy and sell stocks/ETFs. Because of this, though options are a wonderful and versatile trading tool, they’re not for everybody…

Read the full article at:  http://seekingalpha.com/article/311188-how-to-bet-against-the-market-without-shorting-or-using-options