Investing Tips Information

The world of investing is filled with colourful jargon and phrases that may seem strange if you don’t know what they mean. A great example of this is a “Bull market” and a “Bear market.” These two terms refer to market trends. A Bull market means that the market is headed up and it’s time to make money. A Bear market means that stocks are headed down and it’s time to be careful. But where do these terms come from? That is a question that is harder to answer than you think. There doesn’t seem to be any consensus of the origins of these terms, but there are some solid leads.

Some link the origin of Bear and Bull to a book written in the 1700’s called Every Man His Own Broker by Thomas Mortimer. The book describes the tendencies of some investors and links them to bears and bulls. The bull, as described in the book, was someone who might purchase huge amounts of stock with little or no money at all and hope to sell the stock for a profit before the time to pay for it came due.

A bear, on the other hand, sold stock or property that he didn’t even own yet, and then would be forced to scramble to find a way to obtain the goods before he was due to deliver it.

There are some interpretations of the phrases which are much more logical. When a bull attacks, he will use his horns and swipe up to cause damage, while a bear will attack you with his paws and swipe downward.

There is also a group that believes the use of the terms dates back to bear trappers and the practice of bear skin salesmen selling skins they didn’t have yet at a particular price, hoping the skinners would come to sell their kill for a lower price, so that the salesmen could take home the difference. And since a one-time staging of bull and bear fights was popular, the term bull was given to anyone who didn’t practice this.

One final possible origin is related to the ways the animals charge, with bulls moving at high speed forward and bears moving slowing and cautiously.

While the origins of the bear and bull market may never be known, the stories surrounding them are just as colourful and fun as the terms themselves.

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Once you’ve finished searching for that real estate investment of a lifetime, you’ve gone to the open houses, you’ve gotten the financing, made an offer, sat at home worrying if it’s going to be accepted, had the celebratory dinner once it was and then moved in, you’re faced with the chore of protecting it. The number of threats that your property faces can be staggering. It’s not just termites and crude neighbours that are looking to sink your land value. Natural disasters are a part of owning land too.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you live in North America; there is a natural disaster with your name on it. The south has hurricanes, the northeast and Midwest has blizzards and the west has earthquakes. A quake is the most sinister of all natural disasters. People in the rest of the country can see a hurricane and blizzard coming days; sometimes even weeks away and properly prepare their property for the coming storm. With quakes, there is no warning (usually), there is no report on the news that morning saying you’re scheduled to get one. They just happen. So, how can you protect your investment from getting a bad case of the shakes? Here are a few tips.

A good first step would be to pick up the phone or log onto the company that carries your home insurance. Almost no homeowner’s policies cover earthquakes. If you have the extra cash every month, earthquake insurance is a very good idea, but be warned, it is considered catastrophic insurance, so the deductible is going to be very high, usually between 10-15 percent of the amount of your policy. It’s still a good thing to have. Check the website of the US Geological Survey to see if you live in a high enough risk area to warrant extra insurance.

A quick quake-proofing of your home is another good idea. This won’t so much protect your house as it will protect you if one strikes. Use latches to keep cabinets closed, always make sure you have fresh water around and working batteries in all flashlights. These are common sense steps that anyone who lives in any sort of disaster area should follow, whether it is earthquakes, hurricanes or blizzards.

A final step to safeguard your home is to know where your utilities shut offs are. Fires are common after earthquakes and you’ll want to know where your gas main shut off valve is so that you can turn it off and hopefully keep your house safe after a major quake. Also, do not turn the gas back on until you are told it’s safe to do so.

Keeping your investment safe from natural disasters can seem impossible, but with a little common sense planning, you can minimize the damage.

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