Archive for January, 2011

40 Year Mortgage Loans Pros and Cons

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

The long term mortgage such as 40 years mortgage loans have some pros and cons. Let’s begin with the benefits of the 40 year mortgage loan program. The biggest advantage of it is the ability to pay off the loan’s principal and interest with a 30 year loan. This makes you pay lower mortgage monthly compared with the other fixed rate mortgage program with shorter schedule.  The disadvantage of 40 year loan program is you will end up paying more interest over the life term of the loan due to the long duration of the loan. 40 year mortgage have less consumer than 30 year or 20 year loan mortgage. However in the area of Northeast and Cstal California, people choose more 40 year home mortgage because they only have two options leaving, the 40 year home mortgage or an adjustable rate product.

Another consideration of choosing 40 year home mortgage is because many people out there are being burned by ARM products in the past. This long period of home mortgage can be a solution for people who consider planning short time properties but consider also the adjustable rate loan for a long period of time. With this long term of mortgage loan, the borrower could over extend the loan by borrowing on a home which they can afford without the financial instrument like this.  Principal reduction can take longer than 30 years of mortgage.

While the 40 years mortgage can equate to higher amount of interest over the period of loan. A few homeowners take more than 40 years of mortgage loan because they consider they will remain in their home for 30 or 40 years. However a study shows that most Americans sell their home after 7 to 10 after of purchasing it. That is why before you take decision of which term of period mortgage loan, you should do a well calculation to ensure the best decision. Consult the professional mortgage expert before choosing a mortgage program so that the decision you take will be the best for you. It is better to do a searching to find a mortgage loan with the bet deal in the internet.

Advantages of Renting a Home Instead of Owning

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011


Right now, home prices (especially in the U.S.) are quite low, and mortgage rates are fairly low as well. A number of foreclosures means that there are cheap homes on the market. As a result, it is really tempting to buy a home. However, in some cases it might be to your advantage to keep renting. This has occurred to me as my family faces the prospect of moving and possibly selling our house, as well as the expenses associated with paying for a flooded basement. I’m wondering if maybe we should go back to renting. Here are some of the reasons that renting is looking tempting:

Photo: Phil Sexton

Owning a Home is Expensive

Forget about the line from real estate agents about a home being a great investment or your biggest asset. Your home is a purchase. An expensive purchase. By the time you pay interest (even though you can get a tax deduction), property taxes, maintenance costs, repair expenses, insurance and utilities, the expenses really start to add up. Even if you do sell your home for more than you paid, it may not be enough to offset the accumulated expenses associated with owning a home for decades.

Renting, on the other hand, is usually less expensive. You aren’t responsible for the repairs or maintenance costs (unless you do something you shouldn’t), renter’s insurance is much cheaper than homeowner’s insurance, and you don’t have interest or property taxes. Depending on the market you’re in, a rent payment for a decent-sized home may be a couple hundred less than a mortgage payment. Some folks like to invest the difference, hoping for a better long-term return.

Greater Flexibility

If you aren’t going to be an area for very long, the flexibility of renting might be attractive. Aside from having to sign a one year initial lease, renting offers the ability for you to pick up and leave if you need/want to. We had hoped to be in our current home for a longer period of time, but, like so much in life, it isn’t working out. We will probably have to move to a new town, and that means trying to sell this house. If we were renting right now, we could just offer 30 days’ notice to the landlord and leave when ready. And, because we don’t want to be landlords, we will probably have to take a loss on the home when we sell it.

Bottom Line

As with all things financial, what works for you is different from what works for someone else. We probably weren’t exactly ready to buy a home, and we might not rush into it in the next place we live. While we can afford to live in the house, the responsibility of it, and the expense associated with it, can be irritating at times — especially when I think that we are likely to be moving after staying in the home for less than five years.

In the end, carefully weigh the pros and cons of buying a home versus renting it. Think about what is likely to happen in the future, and whether or not the money you put into home ownership might be better used elsewhere.

Dow Jones Ramps up Forex Coverage

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

In a nod to the growing importance of forex ($4 Trillion per day and growing!), Dow Jones recently announced the development of a new forex news service. While many of the features may only be available at some expense to professional subscribers, retail traders should still enjoy some benefit.

According to the Financial Times
, “Financial institutions spend over $1.7bn for foreign exchange news and information… However, Dow Jones’ estimated $22m forex market data sales last year trailed far behind Thomson Reuters, at $1.28bn, and Bloomberg, at $518m.” The “news and commentary” segment (which includes The forex Blog…) accounted for about $100 million of such spending, “with two-thirds of the market controlled by Informa, Dow Jones and IFR Markets.”

DJ FX Trader will apparently aim to solidify Dow Jones position in forex news, while enhancing its stature in the forex information space. Towards that end, its news coverage will be backed by a staff of more than 100 – which have already been instructed to “seek out interviews that could move foreign exchange markets,” while its information offerings will be supported by its investments in algorithmic trading technology, the hiring of former currency traders, and use of a comprehensive outside data feed.

Of course, most of the advanced features will be made available only to those that pay a hefty subscription fee, estimated at more than $100,000 per year. (Bloomberg Terminal, by comparison, costs about $20,000 per year.) It’s not clear exactly what that will include, although for that price, you would expect nothing less than real-time quotes for all currencies on all major exchanges at all times. Its software package would presumably be the the best available, with the ability to run multi-variable trading strategies that execute instantaneously and automatically.

You might wonder why I bother to report on a service that will be prohibitively expensive for almost all retail forex traders. As I <a href=”http://www.forexblog.org/2011/01/fed-paper-power-of-technical-analysis-in-forex-is-declining.html”>reported last week, a recent Federal Reserve Bank study showed that the effectiveness of technical analysis has gradually declined over the last few decades. As a result, the only way to consistently profit is through the use of increasingly sophisticated trading strategies and instantaneous and comprehensive access to information and rates. Similarly, the majority of currency traders (sadly in my opinion) rely on leverage and rapid-fire trading to eke out small gains on each trader. Being even one second late and losing to other traders (or scammed by your broker, as the CFTC has alleged) could mean the difference between winning and losing over the long run.

I’m not seriously encouraging anyone to consider plunking down $100K for DJ forex Trader. Instead, I merely want to illustrate the gap in information that is forming between the “have” traders and the “have-nots.” As trading is increasingly electronic and algorithmic, and all technical analysis is performed by computers, I remain more convinced than ever that quality, fundamental analysis is the key to making money trading currencies over the long run.

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Pound Regains Strength on MPC Minutes

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Great Britain poundThe Great Britain pound recovered today as the minutes of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed that more policy makers voted for an increase of the interest rates than on the previous meetings.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/26/pound-regains-strength-on-mpc-minutes/”>Pound Regains Strength on MPC Minutes (93 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

Mexican Peso Little Changed After Yesterday’s Decline

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Mexican PesoThe Mexican peso was little changed today after it dropped yesterday on the speculation that the government will intervene to weaken the currency.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/26/mexican-peso-little-changed-after-yesterdays-decline/”>Mexican Peso Little Changed After Yesterday’s Decline (85 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

Swiss Franc Gains as Sentiment Turns to Risk Aversion

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Swiss francThe Swiss franc extended its gains today as stocks and commodities declined after the UK gross domestic product unexpectedly declined last quarter, reducing investors’ willingness to risk.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/26/swiss-franc-gains-as-sentiment-turns-to-risk-aversion/”>Swiss Franc Gains as Sentiment Turns to Risk Aversion (108 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

US Dollar Drops with Lower House Prices & Slower Manufacturing

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

US DollarThe US dollar weakened today after the report showed that house prices declined and manufacturing slowed in the US, reducing optimism for the nation’s economy.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/26/us-dollar-drops-with-lower-house-prices-slower-manufacturing/”>US Dollar Drops with Lower House Prices & Slower Manufacturing (117 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

Aussie Weakens vs. Greenback on Slower CPI Growth

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Australian dollarThe Australian dollar slipped today against its US counterpart after the report showed that the inflation rose with slower pare than was predicted.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/25/aussie-weakens-vs-greenback-on-slower-cpi-growth/”>Aussie Weakens vs. Greenback on Slower CPI Growth (57 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

Declining UK GDP Hurts British Pound

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Great Britain poundThe Great Britain pound slumped today after the report showed that Britain’s GDP unexpectedly shrank, causing doubts about the nation’s ability to deal with the budget deficit.(…)
Read the rest of <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/2011/01/25/declining-uk-gdp-hurts-british-pound/”>Declining UK GDP Hurts British Pound (62 words)

Posted on <a href=”http://www.topforexnews.com/”>forex News.

Making Money From Forex Trading Without Trading The Dollar Pairs

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

The vast majority of people who trade forex tend to focus predominantly on the dollar pairs. These include the GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/JPY and USD/CHF pairs. (…)