The 81-year-old investment guru (pictured) was all smiles and optimism in a speech to the Economics Club of Washington, and his relatively sunny outlook for the world's largest economy seemed to touch a chord because the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded strongly yesterday as investors switched money out of save-haven assets like US government bonds.
Investors had entered a defensive crouch last week amid disappointing numbers on monthly jobs growth in the US and the ebbing of confidence in the eurozone, but buying Treasuries was not going to reap rewards over the long term, Mr Buffett said.
"The average person who just consistently buys equities – which to me are by far the most attractive investment choice around – at the end of 20 or 30 years, they'll do very well," he said.
The US will escape a recession "unless events in Europe develop in some way that spills over here big-time", Mr Buffett said, and although he reeled off a list of challenges facing the US – from a looming fight on Capitol Hill over expiring tax cuts, to the ever-rising national debt – he said that economic challenges had been overcome before and could be again.
"We're not smarter than the people in 1930, we don't work harder than the people in 1930, we just have a system that works and has been working since 1776 and will keep working," he said.
Mr Buffett is the second-richest man in the US, after Microsoft's Bill Gates, having built his company, Berkshire Hathaway, into a giant conglomerate spanning insurance, railways, utilities and, recently, local newspapers.
His homespun wisdom is sought so often by investors, the media and the general public that he has become known as the Sage of Omaha, where he grew up and still lives.
In the past few years, he has been outspoken on the need for the richest Americans to pay more in taxes to share the burden of reducing the nation's $13trillion debt. President Barack Obama has even named a tax proposal after him; the "Buffett Rule" would impose a minimum 30 per cent tax rate on individuals earning more than $1m a year.
"I couldn't get a disease named after me, so I settled for a tax," Mr Buffett joked.
The chief who's tops for value
Warren Buffett is the chief executive who has provided the most value for money, according to an analysis of the 50 biggest publicly traded finance companies in the US.
With a salary of just half a million dollars for running Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Buffett ranked 50 out of 50 in terms of his take-home pay last year, while Berkshire stock returned 19 per cent to shareholders over the past three years.
The analysis, for Bloomberg Markets magazine, ranked chief executives on value for money by dividing annual compensation by the three-year investor return.
The league table also provided a new ranking of the highest-paid bosses on Wall Street, with private equity tycoons taking the top slots. Henry Kravis and George Roberts, two of the three founders of KKR, were first and second, respectively, with take-home pay of $30m and $29.9m. John Strangfeld, the chief executive of the life insurer Prudential Financial, was paid $23.7m, while Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, was fourth with $23.1m.
Stephen Foley
FOREX-Euro gains in aftermath of ECB rate decision and Draghi - Reuters UK
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Forex: EUR/USD below 1.2500, Germany data - FXStreet.com
Finance leaders report demands on the 'finance function' are increasing further - Director of Finance online
Finance leaders report demands on the 'finance function' are increasing further.
Finance Leaders are bucking the current trend for negativity on the economic outlook with over 60% of attendees at PwC's Finance Leaders' Summit expecting positive growth in their industry over the next 12-18 months.
The summit, which was held in London by PwC for CFOs and finance leaders from 98 multi-national companies, also touched on how the emerging markets continue to be important for growth.
Top locations were identified as China followed by Brazil, India, the US and Russia.
As the push for growth in new markets continues, an increasing importance is placed on understanding local requirements and demand with 90% of attendees saying they were increasingly moving away from simply exporting products towards developing products and services that are modified to meet local market needs.
Nick Atkin, partner in PwC Consulting's Finance Effectiveness practice said:
"In today's competitive economic landscape and global marketplace, it is no longer enough to export your home-grown products and services. Understanding the opportunities and risks in the local target market and innovating to develop tailor-made products and services is pivotal to success in the emerging markets."
When looking at business in the emerging markets, 60% of finance leaders cite finding and retaining the right talent as the key consideration for their function, followed by compliance and regulatory control risk.
Talent issues remain a concern for finance functions also when doing business in their own countries. Whilst 89% of finance leaders said that the demands on the finance function have increased over the past year, an overwhelming 92% of attendees reported gaps within their existing finance talent base to be able to effectively deliver against the business strategy - with more than a quarter saying those gaps are significant.
Nick Atkin, PwC partner, continues:
“Finance leaders are increasingly focusing on talent management, on attracting and retaining the right talent and on developing the skills of their teams. As organisations grow and expand internationally this is a top priority for business leaders today."
The drive for finance to become a partner of the business and driver of strategy as opposed to a department of report churners seems to continue unabated. Over half of the finance leaders believe that finance should have the responsibility for driving the right data, information and analytics across the business.
Yet a quarter of the respondents stated that the management information produced by finance failed to meet the needs of the business, with a further 37% only neutral about its impact.
Nick Groves, PwC partner and global leader of the enterprise performance management team said:
"Far too much time is still spent on manipulating data rather than on analysing information to deliver insightful solutions. Whilst finance leaders clearly recognise the importance of their role in driving the right data, significant opportunity remains in aligning management information to the needs of the business."
Whilst adding insight and maintaining control are clearly high on Finance Leaders' agendas, continuing to strive for an efficient organisation is still an important balancing act. 70% of Finance Leaders' said that they are now considering a move towards multi-functional shared services, with Finance, IT, HR and Procurement functions being the top candidates. This generates significant benefits to organisations yet also creates certain complexity
Nick Atkin, PwC partner, concluded:
"Organisations continue to look to drive efficiency across the support functions and deliver high quality services to internal customers freeing up time for finance leaders to support more effective decision making. With more free time, finance can focus on putting information at the heart of the organisation to drive better outcomes, growth and prosperity for the business, its employees and shareholders."
Forex: AUD/USD trades above 0.9900; Aussie jobs data eyed - FXStreet.com
Forex Pattern Trade to Take Every Time - Moneyshow.com
Huzefa Hamid, a contributor to DailyForex.com and co-founder of The Forex Room, reviews a recent forex trade inspired by a triangle chart pattern and some reliable Fibonacci price levels.
In my last article on MoneyShow.com, I wrote about the importance of a largely overlooked chart pattern, the triangle, and how it can produce accurate trades with excellent risk/reward ratios.
Here, we’re going to look at this concept tied in with a Fibonacci retracement level that I love: the 88.6 Fib percentage. To recap, the Fibonacci “golden ratio” is 61.8%. If you square root that percentage, and then square root it again, you get 0.886, or 88.6%. I often use a bounce off the 88.6% Fib level as a trade entry.
See also: Fibonacci Analysis: Master the Basics
Let’s dive right in and look at an example. This is a live trade that I took on the GBP/USD on a 15-minute chart.
The following chart is the point at which I saw the trade developing:
Click to Enlarge
My logic was this: The price moved from a high to a low (marked by the 100% and 0% lines) and then moved back up to the 88.6% level (highlighted by the small blue line). The price bounced off that level to the exact pip. I felt the price would continue moving down and extend the previous down move past the 0% level.
I could have entered a short position immediately, but the nearest place for a stop was around 45 pips away (above the previous high). While the profit target was over 80 pips, which gave a decent risk/reward, I felt I could get a tighter stop loss on a consolidation.
As a result, I waited for a pullback or consolidation (such as a triangle) from which to plan the trade. The risk with waiting is missing the trade entirely, as price could just rocket down and not consolidate at all.
Getting into the Trade
When I checked the chart again, I noticed a triangle consolidation where price had just broken out and decided this made a good entry point. I used a 25-pip stop, which was just above the triangle.
In the following chart, I’ve marked just the initial high as Point X, the low as Point 1, and the 88.6% level as Point 2 (and removed the other Fib levels for clarity). The triangle pattern is marked with the red lines.
Click to Enlarge
Getting Out of the Trade
My target was a 100% extension of Wave 1. This means you take the size of Wave 1, i.e. from Point X to Point 1, and measure 100% of that size from Point 2. That gave me a target of about 80 pips away from my entry. This was a risk/reward ratio of over 1:3, which I think is very acceptable.
Click to Enlarge
When it hit the target, it broke it by one or two pips before rebounding and going through it firmly. See the following chart:
Click to Enlarge
Trading Conclusions
- A Fib level can often produce a good set-up, but if you don’t see it quick enough, you may miss the trade or have to accept a wide stop
- The triangle pattern can give you a tighter entry, and therefore, a better risk/reward ratio
- In forex, the pips made only make sense when you compare to the pips risked
By Huzefa Hamid, contributor, DailyForex.com, co-founder, The Forex Room
What is the minimum risk/reward ratio you look for on your trades? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Forex Trading Trainer and Mentor Craig Harris Trades Live in the Market with Students - PR Inside
Carson City, NV (USA), Tuesday - June 05, 2012 -- Veteran forex trader Craig Harris of Professional Forex Investments LLC recently introduced a unique approach to forex training and mentoring that makes it easier for participants to succeed. Unlike many other traders, Harris trades live in the market with his students to provide them an up-close, realistic experience with forex trading.
"Students benefit from forex training with a professional mentor because they get to examine the market live as it's moving," says Harris co-owner of Professional Forex Investments. "They can ask questions live in the market and get real time answers as to why I may take or pass on a trade."
Forex trading is a skill that takes a great deal
of time to develop, according to Harris, who has been trading for more than 10 years. But inexperienced and even more seasoned traders can expedite the process of their forex training by taking advantage of Harris’ Natural Flow System, which includes a variety of elements that students must master to become professional traders. Thanks to Harris’ live forex trading, students can learn by seeing and doing while minimizing their mistakes. Harris explains: "You can have a check list and still not get it right. Being live helps reduce the learning curve and prevents traders from making costly mistakes or developing bad habits."Novice traders can perhaps benefit the most from Harris’ unique style of forex training and mentoring. They can start out learning the proper fundamentals of forex trading and avoid forming any bad habits. Likewise, Harris helps people who already have some trading experience to unlearn some of the habits they may have already developed. Regardless of their level of forex trading expertise, Harris allows his students to virtually peer over his shoulder and watch him make trades in his Live Trade Room.
During the live trading sessions, Harris calls out his trades and explains why he did or did not take a specific trade. Students can ask in-depth questions as they engage in their forex training and receive real-time analysis to help optimize their results. They can also benefit from hearing other traders calling out trades and listening to Harris’ constructive feedback on their decisions. Dexter Meadows, Harris’ business partner, says practical trading in the market is essential to mastering the techniques required for making profitable trades. "Live Trading on a daily basis with a live mentor is the only way to reduce your learning curve in this profession," Meadows says.
Harris trades six hours a day live in the market with his students; he is available to his students six days a week. The live forex trading sessions are an integral part of the Natural Flow Trading System that Harris developed more than 10 years ago. Harris’ proprietary system combines training modules on topics ranging from trend identification and entry/exit points to money management and recovery.
For more information about Harris’ live forex trading and other training services, please visit www.craigharrisforex.com.
About Craig Harris:
A former construction worker, Craig Harris is a full-time, professional forex trader who provides a variety of forex training and mentoring services to students worldwide. Harris has spent nearly 10 years perfecting his Natural Flow System and the past five years teaching it to others. He distinguishes himself as a forex trainer by trading six hours a day live in the market with his students, explaining exactly how and why he completes certain trades. Having taught and trained hundreds of students, Harris is one of the most accomplished forex trading professionals in the industry. Based near San Francisco, Harris uses his unique trading system to help people learn how to do forex trading more quickly, effectively and profitably.
Press & Media Contact:
Dexter Meadows, Partner
CraigHarrisForex.com
Carson City, NV - USA
(510) 557-0852
craigharris@craigharrisforex.com
www.craigharrisforex.com
Finance directors’ income at average of £1m - WalesOnline
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