6 Things To Know About The Economy And Gas Prices

By Terry Stanfield

The economy and gas prices are very closely related to one another. The economic effects on gas prices can make the cost of gasoline rise or fall, depending on the economy. Gasoline supply and prices follow basic rules of economics in that when the supply is low and the demand is high, the prices go up. The price of gasoline as well as the supply can also effect the economy, making it a two way street. If the supply falls short, it can also have an adverse effect on the economy.

Gasoline prices are always fluctuating in accordance with supply and demand. To learn about how the economy effects gas prices, a person has to understand basic economic principles. Everything about the price of gasoline is dictated by the basic concept of supply and demand.

The first thing that someone needs to understand about gas prices is that when there is an increased demand for the product, it can effect the supply. When the supply of gasoline falls short of the demand, the price will jump.

When the economy is in trouble, people will hold off on taking trips and also will curtail going out and using fuel. This causes an increase in the supply of gasoline and causes the prices to drop.

The economy and gas prices are related to the effect that when the economy is doing well and people are using more fuel, the supply of gas goes down and the prices for gasoline start to rise.

Economic effects on gas can also go the other way. If there is a shortage of gas or oil, this can cause the prices of gas to skyrocket because the demand is stagnant while the supply is running low, which can negatively effect the economy.

There have been times in the past when gasoline supply and prices negatively impacted the economy. When the supply ran short, it effected the travel industry and also curtailed spending as people began to use less fuel.

A high supply of gas and low demand usually means a trouble economy. When no one is going out or traveling due to a poor economy, then the demand for gasoline drops, the supply goes up and the prices tend to drop.

The economy and gas prices tend to mirror one another. It is clear to see the economic effects on gas prices in recent times as the demand has dropped sharply, causing prices to plummet. Gasoline supply and prices can be an indication of the economic state of the country. - 23217

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Visit Evans Energy's site for information on oil and gas exploration and oil and gas investments.

Things To Consider When Choosing the Best Fixed Annuities

By John C. Ryan

A fixed annuity may sound confusing at first but if you understand how a CD works at a bank, you have the basic knowledge for fixed annuities. Annuities have other features besides a rate guarantee that make it an interesting choice over a CD. There's a little more information to look at to see if this type of investment vehicle is right for you.

There are two different ways to used fixed annuities. The first is an immediate annuity. In this case, you take smaller equal payments over a set period. The time may be your lifetime, the lifetime of your spouse and yourself, a specific number of years or you can request a specific payment amount and let the company tell you how many payments it lasts. A deferred annuity does just as the name implies, defers the payment to a later date.

The tax-deferred interest is a real plus for those saving for retirement, but as with any benefit has negatives also. If you put the money into a deferred fixed annuity and suddenly realize that you need funds, you have a ten percent penalty to pay on the growth you remove if you're not yet 59 . The tax laws do allow you to take substantial periodic payments penalty-free. The payments must last until you're 59 or at least for 5 years.

Penalties for early removal of money don't stop with the IRS, insurance companies impose them too. Just like a CD, a fixed annuity has an early withdrawal penalty. It often ranges between four and seven percent. This normally gets smaller the longer you wait to take money and eventually disappears on most contracts. Some contracts, particularly those that pay a high rate, always have a surrender fee unless you annuitize. Occasionally they impose the same fee on beneficiaries. If you plan to take payments, it's not a problem.

There are exceptions to the surrender charge. Many contracts offer the ability to remove funds of as much as ten percent without penalty. This amount may be available each year or once for the life of the contract. Almost every annuity allows you to take the interest penalty free each year and some people use the annuities that way, just as they'd use a CD.

Annuity taxation occurs in two ways. If you remove the money from a fixed annuity in a lump sum as a withdrawal, the government taxes it with LIFO rules. This means, last in, first out. Since the last in is always interest, you pay taxes on the interest you withdraw. Unlike a CD, where even if you reinvest the money, you still pay taxes, you only have taxation of annuity interest once you remove it.

Taxation of an immediate annuity is slightly different. The government considers some of your payment a return of principal so it's tax-free. Only part of the payment is taxable as interest and that amount remains level throughout the contract payout period. The tax law uses an exclusion ratio based on your life expectancy.

The exclusion ratio, the amount you exclude from taxation on payments from fixed annuities, comes from multiplying the expected payment by your life expectancy and dividing the original premium by that number. A 62-year-old person's life expectancy is 22.5 years. If they receive an annual amount from a fixed annuity of $9000 and live the 22.5 years, they'll make $202,500 in payments. Simply divide the $100,000 invested by $202,500 to get an exclusion ratio of 49.4 percent. Therefore, you only pay tax on 50.6 percent of the payment.

There are great reasons to select fixed annuities over bank CDs, but most financial planners suggest you use both types of investments and diversify your funds. This is the safest method of investing in the event of unforeseen disasters. Most people find that the annuity is a great method of establishing an income they'll never outlive or a way to achieve tax-deferred growth to pass on to their children. - 23217

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John C. Ryan authors about annuity insurance, and advises how to find the best annuity given your particular situation. Want to learn more?? Come see us, for more advice on fixed annuities .

History of The Wall Street Journal

By Alex Drew

The Wall Street Journal is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, in New York City, with Asian and European editions. As of 2007, it has a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million, with approximately 931,000 paying online subscribers. It was the largest-circulation newspaper in the United States until November 2003, when it was surpassed by USA Today. It would later regain its number one position in the United States in October of 2009.Its main rival is the London-based Financial Times, which also publishes several international editions.

The Journal newspaper primarily covers U.S. and international business and financial news and issues-the paper's name comes from Wall Street, the street in New York City that is the heart of the financial district. It has been printed continuously since being founded on July 8,'89, by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. The newspaper has won the Pulitzer Prize thirty-three times,including 2007 prizes for its reporting on backdated stock options and the adverse effects of China's booming economy.

Dow Jones & Company, publisher of the Journal, was founded in'82 by reporters Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Jones converted the small Customers' Afternoon Letter into the Wall Street Journal, first published in'89,[7] and began delivery of the Dow Jones News Service via telegraph. The Journal featured the Jones 'Average', the first of several indexes of stock and bond prices on the New York Stock Exchange.

Journalist Clarence Barron purchased control of the company for US$130,000 in'02; circulation was then around 7,000 but climbed to 50,000 by the end of the'20s. Barron and his predecessors were credited with creating an atmosphere of fearless, independent financial reporting-a novelty in the early days of business journalism.

Barron died in'28, a year before Black Tuesday, the stock market crash that greatly effected the Great Depression in the United States. Barron's descendants, the Bancroft family, would continue to control the company until 2007. Later on, the Woodworths published the paper. Mrs. Teresa "Teddy" Woodworth was a prominent socialite of her day. The Woodworths resided at New York's Sherry-Netherland, sharing the penthouse floor with Cole Porter.

The Journal took its modern shape and prominence in the'40s, a time of industrial expansion for the United States and its financial institutions in New York. Bernard Kilgore was named managing editor of the paper in'41, and company CEO in'45, eventually compiling a 25-year career as the head of the Journal. Kilgore was the architect of the paper's iconic front-page design, with its "What's News" digest, and its national distribution strategy, which brought the paper's circulation from 33,000 in'41 to 1.1 million at the time of Kilgore's death in'67. It was also on Kilgore's watch, in'47, that the paper won its first Pulitzer Prize, for editorial writing. - 23217

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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is a daily broadsheet newspaper that is among the most influential newspapers in the world

Do You Want To Know Where To Find Investment Advice?

By Debbie J. Gravel

Your future financial stability depends on how wisely you invest the money you are earning today. There are numerous financial professionals who can advise you on all kinds of investment opportunities, and you will need to find one who understands your particular needs, and one who will ensure that you earn good returns on your investments. This article will give advice on where to find investment advice.

Your adviser will need to ascertain what kind of investment is best for you, and whether you are interested in investing in low or high risk investments.

All banks have experts who can explain the various investment opportunities offered by banks. These include CDs (certificates of deposit), money market accounts, or different types of savings accounts. Banks can also offer advice on how to invest internationally, as well as how to invest in precious metals, commodities or stocks and bonds. A bank is often a good place to start for new investors because the investment adviser can assist in setting up an investment portfolio.

Financial planners are also excellent when it comes to offering good advice to investors. A financial planner will scrutinize your income and your lifestyle and then create a portfolio tailor-made for you as an individual. You will then have peace of mind that your money has been well invested and still be able to live according to your lifestyle.

If you are looking where to find investment advice on stocks and bonds, it may be a good idea to consult with a professional investment adviser who will be well informed in this sphere of investment. People wanting the best advice about retirement fund investments often refer to an investment adviser.

If you're still not sure where to find investment advice, you may wish to hire a broker. Brokers are known to have their fingers on the pulse of the latest investment trends and will find the best options for clients.

Successful investors usually hire the services of an investment manager to monitor their investment portfolio. The investment manager will keep the client up to date with new opportunities that can increase returns. An investment manager will also ensure that your portfolio is diverse and that it includes a range of different investments.

All investments are subject to some kind of risk, even investments that are considered to be low risk. Fixed investments - these are affected by fluctuations in interest rates. Likewise, high risk ventures such as international investments can be severely affected by the economic climate of the country that holds the investment. It is therefore crucial that you obtain the best possible advice before signing any investment deal. - 23217

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Are you searching for a solid good financial investment advice that is good for you? Before you waste your time searching for quality financial investment information, check out BeforeYouInvest.com's guide to investing for beginners. We review everything from where to buy investments to the low initial investment mutual funds.

Stock Newsletters Can Inform Consumers of Upcoming Changes

By Kelly Dearmond

My granddaughter's interest in investing gave me the incentive to begin learning about it. Every weekend, my granddaughter came to my house and read the Sunday newspaper. At only 8 years old, my granddaughter loved the Financials section.

My granddaughter's interest in investing never faded. My granddaughter always told me to keep paying attention to what she said about investing, as it would help me make sure my future was secure. I began to pay attention. When I first started, I could barely understand the Financial section. Now, I have accounts with several brokerages, a financial mentor, and an accountant.

One of the biggest complaints I've made to my granddaughter is that market timing reports just seem like fortunetelling. Many investment newsletters show very little research and heavy marketing verbiage; while others are all singularly focused on the current economic markets. The worst stock market newsletter I received only discussed huge market gains and losses that had occurred 6 months ago.

After constantly insisting that these investment newsletters are not accurate, I was able to convince my granddaughter to locate an investment research firm that does have accurate, timely, and data-driven information. My granddaughter began searching the investment research firms, and examining their research methodologies. She found My Strategic Forecast online a week later.

My Strategic Forecast specializes in providing research in the form of financial newsletters, investment newsletters, and stock news letters, all delivered to my email inbox. Their research uses historical events to put perspective on the market forces shaping our economy. For example, they were able to analyze the economic factors present during pre-World War II, and apply some of that information to our airline industry just prior to the Iraq War.

Through their attention paid to historical trends, My Strategic Forecast has proved to be a wise investing tool. When their newletters arrive in my email inbox, I am excited about my next opportunity to review them. The firm carefully and efficiently analyzes all data before expressing an opinion about what is happening in the financial world. They take into account political information, geopolitical information, and even data about weather trends. I am thrilled that I am able to now get the biggest picture possible; I know what is currently happening, what occurred in the past, and how to gauge my bets in the future.

My granddaughter did well, she is now a Securities Account Manager for a large firm; we still laugh about reading the Financials section together. My granddaughter is also a subscriber to My Strategic Forecast as she believes that their methodology is unlike any other in the business. I feel lucky to have such a smart granddaughter looking out for me. - 23217

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If you want to look at what My Strategic Forecast is, go ahead and click their website.It's full of invaluable data that will show you a new system to conduct market analysis investment research.