Stock Preacher

The US$ hit a 5 month low against a basket of major currencies on Friday and the euro rose above US$1.41 for the first time this year as investors bought higher-yielding currencies and assets on hopes of a global economic recovery. Sterling approached US$1.62, almost an 8 month high, and capped its best month since 1985, while data showing the US economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter lifted global stocks and dulled the dollar’s safe-haven allure. Concern about the expanding amount of debt needed to fund a record US$1.8T US budget deficit added to dollar woes this week and put the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield en route to its biggest 2 month spike since 2004. Those worries amplified a report that South Korea’s National Pension Service intends to reduce exposure to US government bonds and equities in its 5 year portfolio. “There’s a visceral concern about the debasement of the US currency because the United States has a lot of debt to finance” and may have to print more money to do it, said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut

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The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Friday that it regretted Switzerland’s decision to veto part of the OECD’s budget in a dispute over bank secrecy in the Alpine tax haven.

World leaders agreed at the recent G-20 summit to crack down on tax fraud and asked the OECD to publish lists of tax havens. Switzerland landed on a list of financial centers that have yet to deliver on pledges to meet international standards of bank information disclosure.

“The OECD acted in good faith,” OECD chief Angel Gurria said in a letter to Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, a copy of which was released to journalists.

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What the Financial Times of London described as “combative” US President Barack Obama warned last Saturday he was bracing for a fight against powerful lobbyists and special interests who sought to pick apart the US$3,550B (or US$3.55T) budget he wants to advance his agenda of reform.

Mr. Obama’s spending blueprint, with its massive US$1,170B (or US$1.17T) deficit and tax hikes on the wealthy, seeks to squeeze billions of US4s in savings out of current spending through competitive bidding among health insurers and ending subsidies and tax breaks for banks, agribusiness and oil companies. ”These steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business,” the president said in his weekly radio address.”I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak,” he said. ”My message to them is this: So am I.”

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U.S. consumer confidence slipped to a record low in January, and governments around the world offered further help to banks and industries battered by the global financial crisis. U.S. industry group Conference Board said its sentiment index fell to 37.7 from a revised 38.6 in December, confounding forecasts for a small uptick after Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, showed a surprise rise in business sentiment.

Japan and Britain widened their efforts to help industries hurt by slowing economies, with the UK offering loan guarantees for automakers, while sources said Russia was preparing more support for banks. Japan enacted a US$53B extra budget and said it would offer a lifeline to the small- and medium-sized companies at the heart of the world’s second-largest economy with a US$16.7B fund to buy stakes. Britain announced it would guarantee up to 2.3B pounds (US$3.25B) of loans to the car industry, much of which is foreign-owned, including Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co..France and Italy are also planning aid while Germany and the United States have already announced plans to support automakers. In Russia, sources told Reuters that the government was set to help top bank Sberbank and other lenders with a second bailout package worth more than $27 billion.

One government source said Russia planned to offer Sberbank a 500B roubles subordinated loan. Last week, US Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner set to work overhauling a US$700B program to rescue the world’s largest economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He is expected to propose new steps to unclog credit markets in the next two weeks. Canada’s budget and stimulus package will include incentives for home renovations and a promise of relief for credit card borrowers as well as tax breaks for middle- and lower-income Canadians, the Globe and Mail newspaper reporter.

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With a cash flow statement you ask yourself three question:

What money is coming In? In your cash flow statement, jot down all sources of income. Calculate it for the month and then for the year. Include everything, including salary, wages, interest, dividends, and so on. Add them all up and get your grand total income.

What is your outgo? Write down all the things that you spend money on. List all your expenses. If possible, categories them into essential and nonessential. You can get an idea of all the expenses that you can reduce without affecting your lifestyle. But before you do that, make as complete a list as possible of what you spend your money on.

What’s left? If you income is greater than your outgo, then you have money ready and available for stock investing. No matter how small the amount seems. it definitely helps. I ‘ve seen fortunes built when people stated to diligently invest as little as $25 to $50 per week or per month. If you outgo is greater than your income, then you better sharpen your pencil. Cut down on nonessential spending and increase your income. If you budget is a little tight, hold off on your stock investing until your cash flow improves.

Tallying up your income

Using table below as a worksheet, list and calculate the money you have coming in. The first column describes the source of the money. The second column indicates the monthly amount from each repectvie source, and the last column indicates the amount projected for a full year. Include all income, such as wages, business income, dvidiends, interest income, and so on. Then project these amounts for a year and enter those amounts in the third column.

Listing your Income

This is the amount of money you have to work with. To ensure your financial health, don’t spend more than this amount. Always be aware of and carefully manage your income.

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