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Introduction
Wouldn’t you love to be a business owner without ever having to show up at work? Imagine if you could sit back, watch your company grow, and collect the dividend checks as the money rolls in! This situation might sound like a pipe dream, but it’s closer to reality than you might think.
As you’ve probably guessed, we’re talking about owning stocks. This fabulous category of financial instruments is, without a doubt, one of the greatest tools ever invented for building wealth. Stocks are a part, if not the cornerstone, of nearly any investment portfolio. When you start on your road to financial freedom, you need to have a solid understanding of stocks and how they trade on the stock market.
Over the last few decades, the average person’s interest in the stock market has grown exponentially. What was once a toy of the rich has now turned into the vehicle of choice for growing wealth. This demand coupled with advances in trading technology has opened up the markets so that nowadays nearly anybody can own stocks.
Despite their popularity, however, most people don’t fully understand stocks. Much is learned from conversations around the water cooler with others who also don’t know what they’re talking about. Chances are you’ve already heard people say things like, “Bob’s cousin made a killing in XYZ company, and now he’s got another hot tip…” or “Watch out with stocks–you can lose your shirt in a matter of days!” So much of this misinformation is based on a get-rich-quick mentality, which was especially prevalent during the amazing dotcom market in the late 90s. People thought that stocks were the magic answer to instant wealth with no risk. The ensuing dotcom crash proved that this is not the case. Stocks can (and do) create massive amounts of wealth, but they aren’t without risks. The only solution to this is education. The key to protecting yourself in the stock market is to understand where you are putting your money.
It is for this reason that we’ve created this tutorial: to provide the foundation you need to make investment decisions yourself. We’ll start by explaining what a stock is and the different types of stock, and then we’ll talk about how they are traded, what causes prices to change, how you buy stocks, and much more.
More:
What Causes Stock Prices to Change?
How to read a Stock Table Quote
The Bulls, the Bears, and the Farm
Cobalt:
The Essential Resource of the New Millennium
Just as gas powered autos have depended on oil for the past 100 years, the world’s future fleet of electric vehicles may very well depend on a strategic element mined in a primary capacity in only a handful of locations. This essential element is cobalt.
Cobalt (Co) is a hard, lustrous, silver-grey metal that based on its unique properties has many applications. Although cobalt has been used since ancient times to impart a rich blue colour to glass, glazes and ceramics, it wasn’t until 1735 that the free metallic form was prepared and discovered. Since then, the applications have been varied and the element has played a significant role in industrial uses, the hi-tech industry, medical uses, environmental operations and strategic purposes.
There has been growing momentum in recent years around environmental sustainability and as the socio-economical impact of environmental issues rises, green initiatives have become a global focus.
Cobalt is an element of critical importance to the future energy economy due to its critical role in rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. The primary use of these batteries is in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). Due to escalating gas prices and concerns around fossil fuels more and more nations have recognized the importance of HEV production. HEVs not only reduce air pollution but also cut back on fuel consumption by more than 50% compared to conventional vehicles. This trend has increased HEV production on a global scale with an estimated 8 million units by 2015, thereby increasing annual cobalt demand by nearly 22,000 tonnes/year. The HEV also offers a more environmentally friendly “plug-in” which includes an extra Cobalt-bearing battery, further increasing cobalt demand.
Although some primary Cobalt operations do exist, supply generally comes from the byproduct of Nickel and Copper production and has varying degrees of cost dynamics. A large portion of Cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia as such a byproduct. Puget Venture’s Werner West Cobalt mine is one of the few cobalt resources aiming to be a primary cobalt operation. Werner West is located in the geo-politically stable and progressive jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada.
Puget Ventures has strategically positioned itself in the forefront of the Cobalt industry to supply the growing demand for this essential resource in the near future.
COBALT AT A GLANCE
Chemical Symbol Co
Atomic Number 27
Description Transition Metal
Properties Shiny, grey, brittle metal
Atomic Weight 58.9332
Density (g/cm2) 8.90
Melting Point (K) 1768
Boiling Point (K) 3201
Av. Abundance 25 ppm
UNIQUE PROPERTIES MAKE COBALT AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT
- High melting point (1493 *C) and retains its strength to a high temperature
Applications: Cutting tools, superalloys, surface coating, high speed steels, cemented carbides, diamond tooling
- Ferromagnetic (nickel and iron are as well) and retains this property to 1100*C, a higher temperature (Curie Point0 than any other material
Applications: Alnico magnets, recording tape, soft magnetic materials, saarium cobalt, NdBFe + cobalt
- Produces intense blue colours when with silica
Applications: Cobalt Blue in paints, glazes, enamels, etc.
- Multivalent
Applications: Catalytic action is enhanced –OXO reaction, Fischer-Tropsch, oil desulphurisation, paint and ink drier, tire adhesives
Cobalt’s green applications extend beyond rechargeable batteries and hybrid vehicles and into the following sectors:
- Renewable Energy
– solar panel technology
– wind generation (turbine blades),
- Emissions Control
– oil desulphurization
– gas to liquid technology
- Digital Revolution
– Cell phones and PDAs
– Computers and electronics
Article Contributed by:
Click on either banner or HERE for more information.
Cobalt:
The Essential Resource of the New Millennium
Just as gas powered autos have depended on oil for the past 100 years, the world’s future fleet of electric vehicles may very well depend on a strategic element mined in a primary capacity in only a handful of locations. This essential element is cobalt.
Cobalt (Co) is a hard, lustrous, silver-grey metal that based on its unique properties has many applications. Although cobalt has been used since ancient times to impart a rich blue colour to glass, glazes and ceramics, it wasn’t until 1735 that the free metallic form was prepared and discovered. Since then, the applications have been varied and the element has played a significant role in industrial uses, the hi-tech industry, medical uses, environmental operations and strategic purposes.
There has been growing momentum in recent years around environmental sustainability and as the socio-economical impact of environmental issues rises, green initiatives have become a global focus.
Cobalt is an element of critical importance to the future energy economy due to its critical role in rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. The primary use of these batteries is in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). Due to escalating gas prices and concerns around fossil fuels more and more nations have recognized the importance of HEV production. HEVs not only reduce air pollution but also cut back on fuel consumption by more than 50% compared to conventional vehicles. This trend has increased HEV production on a global scale with an estimated 8 million units by 2015, thereby increasing annual cobalt demand by nearly 22,000 tonnes/year. The HEV also offers a more environmentally friendly “plug-in” which includes an extra Cobalt-bearing battery, further increasing cobalt demand.
Although some primary Cobalt operations do exist, supply generally comes from the byproduct of Nickel and Copper production and has varying degrees of cost dynamics. A large portion of Cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia as such a byproduct. Puget Venture’s Werner West Cobalt mine is one of the few cobalt resources aiming to be a primary cobalt operation. Werner West is located in the geo-politically stable and progressive jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada.
Puget Ventures has strategically positioned itself in the forefront of the Cobalt industry to supply the growing demand for this essential resource in the near future.
COBALT AT A GLANCE
Chemical Symbol Co
Atomic Number 27
Description Transition Metal
Properties Shiny, grey, brittle metal
Atomic Weight 58.9332
Density (g/cm2) 8.90
Melting Point (K) 1768
Boiling Point (K) 3201
Av. Abundance 25 ppm
UNIQUE PROPERTIES MAKE COBALT AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT
- High melting point (1493 *C) and retains its strength to a high temperature
Applications: Cutting tools, superalloys, surface coating, high speed steels, cemented carbides, diamond tooling
- Ferromagnetic (nickel and iron are as well) and retains this property to 1100*C, a higher temperature (Curie Point0 than any other material
Applications: Alnico magnets, recording tape, soft magnetic materials, saarium cobalt, NdBFe + cobalt
- Produces intense blue colours when with silica
Applications: Cobalt Blue in paints, glazes, enamels, etc.
- Multivalent
Applications: Catalytic action is enhanced –OXO reaction, Fischer-Tropsch, oil desulphurisation, paint and ink drier, tire adhesives
Cobalt’s green applications extend beyond rechargeable batteries and hybrid vehicles and into the following sectors:
- Renewable Energy
– solar panel technology
– wind generation (turbine blades),
- Emissions Control
– oil desulphurization
– gas to liquid technology
- Digital Revolution
– Cell phones and PDAs
– Computers and electronics
Article Contributed by:
Click on either banner or HERE for more information.
Rare Earths – The Writing is on the Wall
Found this small blurp from the China People’s Daily floating around the ‘Net today.
China is nto going to wait until it is running out of its strategic metals. They will take action to ensure a viable future supply. Keep your eye on those companies with Rare Earth exposure like Avalon Rare Metals (TSX:AVL), Great Western Minerals (TSXv:GWG), Quest Uranium (TSXv:QUC), Strategic Resources (TSXv:UVR) and newcomer Tasman Metals (TSXv:TSM).
China has more than 50 percent of global reserves of rare earth resources, but China has no pricing rights or discourse powers in international markets. China’s rare-earth has been sold as cheap as cabbages in the past two decades. Energy experts warn that with the current mining rate, strategic resources will be exhausted soon.
China’s total reserves and production scale of rare earth ranks first in the world. The output of wolfram, indium and rare-earth in China accounted for more than 80 percent of the global output.
In Europe, U.S., Japan and ROK, the rare metals are also called “strategic metal” widely used in national defense. However, many countries began to import rare metals from China and other developing countries instead of mining in their countries.
In 1980s, China’s rare-earth industry was in a mess and no one pay attention to it, which resulting in oversupply, thus rare-earth prices have been artificially lowered. China’s rare earth industry is facing a non-profit dilemma. And foreign countries took their chance hoarding much of the market supply.
China’s rare-earth production has reached 96 percent of all global production and exports reached over 60 percent in 2005. However, the pricing right is not reserved for Chinese enterprises. Compared with 1998, China’s rare-earth exports have increased ten times, but the price has decreased by about 36 percent.
Energy experts warn that with the current mining rate, mining area in Baiyunebo, China’s Inner Mongolia will turn to non-rare-earth in the coming 30 years. Rare-earth resources in Jiangxi will be exhausted in the next 20 years and China’s world largest tungsten resources will also be exhausted in 14 years.
In recent years, China has realized the strategic importance of rare-earth. In 2005, crude rare earth ore was listed in the non-exportation catalogue. Foreign countries could only buy purified rare earth materials. And in the same year, export tax of rare earth substantially increased.
In April, Ministry of Land and Resources of China released a new standard of rare earth mining and cut down the output of rare earth; meanwhile, mining permits are still frozen.
By People’s Daily Online Monday November 16th
Article contributed by http://www.investingsuccess.ca
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