Buying Precious Metals for Investment

Buying precious metal is turning into a trend as of late. Investing in precious metals is a very delicate decision that does have some risk as you may never know when there will be fluctuations in the prices. It is also one of the smartest. It is the same with all kind of investments you make but it's less difficult with metals as you can see the factors that may cause any change and you can make your investing propositions accordingly. Gold price depends upon on the performance of the US Dollar and the Euro. This makes people feel secure to invest in gold. Metals are one of the best ways to safeguard your investments. The price of metals shoots up if the market is hit by any type of crisis. Natural crisis such as a tsunami or an earthquake can be a cause which leads to increase in the prices of metals.   Buying precious metal is a much better idea today than tomorrow. The price of gold is more expensive today than it was last month. Owning gold and silver today is a more practical idea as you are paying a better price today for the precious metal. The crumbling stock market has made many citizens concerned about investing their hard earned money. Citizens consider cash to be more unreliable and it is currently being devalued by each passing day. Therefore it is encouraged to invest in hard assets like gold and silver, as it is the best possible way to protect one's savings.   The rising prices of gold have led the people to opt for different options to choose from when it comes to buying precious metal. Investors are taking new interest in the metal silver. There are many things such as supply and demand and market responses around the globe which have an effect on the spot price of silver. As the traders and investors make changes in their shares it affects the spot price of silver. Due to the increase in the mining of silver and dwindling supply, market and financial analysts are becoming more interested in the prices of silver. The investors presume that silver will outplace other financial commodities.   If you are looking for making your own investments then buying precious metal gives you with exciting opportunities to keep you in charge of your own finances. With so many alternatives in the investment market it may be difficult for you to choose the right option to secure your finances. You might want to have a detail study about the market position before you make your investments.   You can go about this all on your own but your best option is to contact someone who can get you started off in your venture with the applicable software, tools and know-how. There are many of these types of businesses out there and EZ Gold Exchange is one of them. They are dependable and have been around for a long time. They are preferred for getting businesses off to a great start in their buying precious metal endeavor. They are also refiners so that is another step that you will ultimately have to take but you won't have to waste the time looking for a good one.

Gold Rises As Greek Bond Deal Looks Likely

Yesterday, gold managed to break its $200-moving day average and is now trading back above $1,700, just, 3 days of continual loses. Gold prices fell below $1,700 on Monday after official data released from China at the annual meeting of the National People's Congress. China's economic growth target has been revised down to 7.5% and this is the first time since 2005 that China is expecting to see growth fall below 8%. This announcement had a heavy impact on the markets and gold prices slipped, as the prospect of a modest slowing in GDP growth could also have negative ramifications for China's appetite for gold jewellery.

In order for Greece to avoid default, investors must agree to incur a loss of up to 75% on their bonds; these private investors include banks, hedge funds and financial institutions. Investors may be forced by the Greek Government to accept these losses regardless in order to avoid a default. However, holding onto these bonds may also prove unwise; the situation is far from resolved and future losses are like to be bigger. Considering the price of gold two years ago was around $1,100 would you rather be holding sovereign debt right now or gold?

Yesterday, a group of 30 banks and funds representing nearly 40% of Greece's EUR206bn of outstanding debt announced they would take part in a Greek debt deal, and this news raised the likelihood that Greece's bond swap would go through and supported equities and the EUR, according to Reuters. This news and oil prices helped support gold prices.

Gold was further supported by a Wall Street Journal report that Federal Reserve officials are considering a new type of bond-buying program designed to subdue inflation worries. Even the mention of such a programme is bullish for gold.

Chinese demand also appears to be recovering, however any further negative news regarding Greece and the European Sovereign Debt is likely to be bearish for gold and declines would follow. Any declines in the gold price present a good opportunity to invest in gold.

It also seems that rising oil prices are becoming a main source of investor anxiety. Oil and gold prices tend to move together, which means any increase in oil prices lends support to gold.

"Although the macro environment is still very gold-supportive, in the nearer term it's going to be the physical market and whether that enables prices to consolidate enough so that investment demand can retake the reins," Barclays Capital analyst Suki Cooper said.

Data released from the FED showed that US Companies increased their hiring in February, supporting hopes that the US Labour market has moved into a higher gear. Investors will be anxious to hear the U.S non-farmers payroll data, due to be released tomorrow; poor data could lead to further expectations of quantitative easing in the US, which would be bullish for gold.

Podcasting Your Way to Internet Marketing Success!

These days, almost every Internet marketing professional uses a blog as their main base of Internet operations, for the ease of updating their information, an interactive way to keep in touch with their audience and to increase their branding worldwide. Done right, blogs are also a powerful targeted traffic magnet that can bring in prospects then funnel them to the desired product, service or affiliate link.

What many are missing, though, is the added targeted traffic draw of podcasting on their blogs. A podcast is simply an audio version of some information, usually an article or blog post. This additional format is an important accessibility aid as well, for people with poor eyesight and for those who speak the language but aren't cognizant with it in written form.

Preparing a podcast is simple - just read your post into your microphone or headset and record it. For the optimal ratio of file size to quality, try recording it at 44.1 Khz in 16-bit mono and saving it as an MP3. Those suggested settings are somewhat arbitrary though, so if you're not familiar with the technology just record your post or article at your computer's default settings.

For use with a WordPress blog, look through the various podcasting plug-ins in that section of their site. One important concern is whether the plug-in creates a separate RSS feed for your podcasts - if it doesn't, you'll want to set one up manually. If you're setting up the podcast RSS feed yourself, there's a great tutorial for it on the iTunes website - look for the 'Submit Your Feed' link.

And that's the other purpose to using podcasts - listing your RSS feed in directories like iTunes, PodcastAlley and PodcastReady will expose your work - and your site link - to a much wider audience. Millions of people use these directories to download MP3's to their players, their phones and their computers each day, and you want to tap into that upscale market right from the start.

As a side bonus, the plugins will usually also add a player to your blog post itself, giving your visitors the choice of reading the post or listening to it. For those who choose to listen to it, hearing the words in your voice, with your inflection, will help them connect to you as a person, as opposed to an author on yet another Internet marketing blog.

However, it's important to remember it doesn't NEED to be your voice - you can just as easily outsource the reading of your articles to a professional 'voice' - voiceover talent that specialize in that well-known radio type of broadcast voice. Numerous sites offer this service, so a search for 'voiceover talent' should get you started in the right direction.

Overall though, the benefits derived from greater accessibility and the greater potential targeted traffic you can appeal to make podcasting a well-worthwhile addition to your Internet marketing arsenal. Start adding podcasts to your blog today!

Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   Podcasts As Internet Marketing Tools - Is Audio Or Video Better?   How to Make a Podcast For a Website   6 Tips to Eliminate Background Noise in Your Podcast   

How Podcasting Can Help Your Online Business

If you follow the blogging and social web worlds, you've probably heard the term "podcasting." Podcasting is simply the creation of audio files that are designed for easy distribution over the Internet, generally using the popular MP3 format. Thousands of people are creating podcasts now and their creations are widely distributed across the net, so it's definitely a hot trend - but don't worry about the sizzle outweighing the steak, because podcasting adds real value for almost any business.

Many business podcasts use the format of a radio talk show, with a host (often the site owner or business manager) interviewing guests who have something informative or interesting to say on the topic of the podcast. Other podcasts follow a lecture format, or take an infomercial-type approach. In general, before starting a podcast you should consider who your target audience is, and what you want them to take away from the podcast. Then you can choose a format best suited to distributing that information.

So why podcast? The first and simplest reason is that podcasts bring in audiences. People love podcasts, and they search the podcast directories and iTunes daily for new podcasts to listen to. You can bring in dozens or even hundreds of new visitors to your online site just by having a podcast out there.

Second, you can use your podcast to directly promote your products or affiliate links. Not many people are interested in downloading a commercial, but if you are providing valuable information and mentioning how your products or your affiliate's products are relevant to the topic of the podcast, you will be advertising your material without a heavy sales pitch.

Third, podcasts can help you develop relationships with your customers. Hearing someone's voice adds another layer of perception to their experience of you, which may currently be limited to the written text and visual imagery on your site. Adding your voice adds credibility and believability to all your messaging, not just what's directly on the podcast. Podcasting on informational topics will cause people to view you as an expert on your topic, particularly if you are providing valuable information in your podcasts,

Finally, podcasting can be a direct revenue stream for your business. If you start to develop an audience for your podcasts, you can accept advertising and/or sponsorship for them. Again, you want to avoid turning your podcast into a purely commercial endeavor, but dedicated listeners don't mind hearing some sales talk or advertising if they are getting something of value in return.

Getting started with podcasting is straightforward. You can do it for free with a variety of free tools out there, but the simplest way is to sign up with Audio Acrobat. AA has a modest monthly fee, but they take care of all the details for you. You can record audio files at your computer with a simple microphone or using a call-in line with your telephone, and the resulting podcasts are easily streamable. You can post your podcasts to your sites as well as to the podcast directories.

Podcasting is an inexpensive and easy way to open a direct line of communication to your customers and community. It might not be right for every business, but the odds are very good that it is right for yours. Give it a try!

Podcast - How Did it All Begin?   Podcasting - A Look at What it is and How it Started   Podcasts As Internet Marketing Tools - Is Audio Or Video Better?   Adding Great Audio to Your Website   What is Podcasting For Business Marketing?   

Choosing Pond Plants

A pond without plants is like cake without icing. Pond plants fight algae, give fish a hiding place against predators, and beautify our own little slice of paradise to plunk down in at the end of a tiring day.

Don't smother your pond with plants, however. Start with half the surface area, and don't let them cover more than two-thirds to three-quarters at their growing peak. Overcrowding stresses them out, and hey - it just looks bad!

Don't let the terms "hardy" and "tropical" throw you when choosing plants for your pond. Just remember that these terms refer to the environment in which the plant has originally been adapted - and not to whether it can be thrown across the room or how well it looks in a fancy mixed drink.

Hardy pond plants, as a rule, can handle cold temperatures and frost. Of course, this is relative to your USDA agricultural zone, found here: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html.

Ask your plant professional or check the plant's label before taking home that plant that does great in Hawaii, but not so great in Maine.

Tropicals, on the other hand, pretty much hold true to what they're called: They will take a nosedive if temperatures get much below 70 degrees, turning into a messy mush if it freezes.

But, ah, Grasshopper, there are ways to save even those hardy plants that aren't quite up to a northern blizzard, as well as those tender-toed tropicals with which you've fallen madly in love.

Bury hardy pond plants, pot and all, into a south-facing part of your yard and cover with a thick, warm blanket of mulch. Or put them into a garage or basement, making sure they're kept wet and have good air circulation.

Tropicals, on the other hand, need light and moisture year 'round. If you don't have a greenhouse, place tropicals in your sunniest window and keep misted, several times a day if possible, to provide the humidity they crave in order to flourish. "Grow lights" do a fabulous fake of the sun, however, and many tropical pond plants thrive under them.

Marginal pond plants - those that grow around the edges, or margins, of a pond - can be either hardy or tropical. Some hardy marginals are cattail, plantain, and rush. Tropical marginals include taro, spider lily, and water hibiscus. Of course there are legions more to lust after in both hardy and tropical marginals. Place marginals with their pot tops one to six inches under water. Very tall plants, like cattail, can be moved as deep as a foot beneath the surface one they've gotten full-sized.

Water lilies, however, like their water deep - between 18 and 30 inches - after starting the season in the 6"-12" shallower end. This gives them a nice, springtime shot of sunshine to get going again. And when the plant pro recommends those funny-looking pots with all the little holes in them, go for it. Pond plants poke their toes (roots) through them to develop tiny, nutrient-extracting feeder roots. Meshing with one another, these roots provide stability and protection against wind, kids, pets, and adults that have a tendency to stumble into them.

Fertilize pond plants when they need them. "Ha!" you say. "And when is that?" Well, go back to your plant pro, the Internet, or the plant label you so wisely saved. Each plant may have different requirements, but one rule of thumb: Plants need much more fertilizer in warm-weather months than when it's cool outside.

So go have fun with your pond and your plants!

Summer Pond Tips   Choosing Pond Plants   

Summer Pond Tips

Low Oxygen levels Kill Fish

Use an oxygen tester and air stones to keep your available

oxygen level to at least 7.0 parts per million of dissolved

oxygen in 90 degree F. water. Koi and goldfish start showing

signs of stress at oxygen levels of 4.0 ppm and will start

dying at 3.0 ppm. The higher the water temperature goes the

less oxygen that's available. Water temperatures over 90

degrees will also affect fish health so keep the temperature

under control by providing shade during the hottest parts of

the day.

It's Parasite Season

Warm water causes an increase in parasites such as anchor

worms, fish lice or flukes. Some parasites such as anchor worm

and fish lice are visible and can be treated with Dylox,

Dipterex or Masoten.

Invisible parasites such as external protozoa and flukes can

not be seen but they usually cause symptoms including extra

thick mucus, constant scratching by rubbing against objects,

flashing, or jumping. Some variations will cause a noticeable

head shaking and yawning. COntact your pond specialist for

treatments because different symptoms are indicative of

different infections. Follow label instructions at all times

or you could cause serious injury or death to your fish.

Summer Koi Feeding Tips

If you water is between 70 to 85 F. then feed a low protein

food in a quantity that is equal to 1.0% to 1.5% of total koi

body weight in pond. Estimate total koi body weight in pond

and feed recommended % of food daily based on season and water

temperature divided into intervals of about 2-2-1/2 hours.

Takes koi about 2- 2-1/2 to digest food in warmer water and

4-8 hrs in colder water when feeding is begun. So in warmer

ideal water temperatures feed 5-8 times daily the individual

portions totaling daily amount needed. In cooler temperatures

feed 1-3 times daily.

Sunblock for your Koi

Koi are not immune from sunburn, especially in shallow ponds

that get direct sunlight. Provide shade such as water lilies

or a rock overhang. Even a beach umbrella will do in a pinch.

Watch for Evaporation

Depending upon the surface area of your pond, you can lose

several inches per day to evaporation. Monitor and adjust your

water levels daily or as necessary. Remember, do not use

water with chlorine in it if you have fish!

Five Quick Tips For Healthy Summertime Water

1. Ensure that you have good mechanical and biological

filtration and that your pump will turn the pond water over

totally at least twice per day.

2. Operate the pump 24 hours a day.

3. Provide adequate shade by having 60 to 70% of the pond's

surface area covered with floating plants or other types of

shade.

4. Add water clarifiers and bottled bacteria if your water

remains cloudy even when good filtration is present.

5. Test oxygen levels daily and add air stones if levels fall

below 7 PPM.

Summer Pond Tips   Choosing Pond Plants