Nature of the insurance Industry

Goods and services. The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of perils. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, and fire and storm damage; medical expenses; and loss of income due to disability or death.

Industry organization. The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers (or insurers) and insurance agencies and brokerages. In general, insurance carriers are large companies that provide insurance and assume the risks covered by the policy. Insurance agencies and brokerages sell insurance policies for the carriers. While some of these establishments are directly affiliated with a particular insurer and sell only that carrier’s policies, many are independent and are thus free to market the policies of a variety of insurance carriers. In addition to supporting these two primary components, the insurance industry includes establishments that provide other insurance-related services, such as claims adjustment or third-party administration of insurance and pension funds.

These other insurance industry establishments also include a number of independent organizations that provide a wide array of insurance-related services to carriers and their clients. One such service is the processing of claims forms for medical practitioners. Other services include loss prevention and risk management. Also, insurance companies sometimes hire independent claims adjusters to investigate accidents and claims for property damage and to assign a dollar estimate to the claim.

Insurance carriers assume the risk associated with annuities and insurance policies and assign premiums to be paid for the policies. In the policy, the carrier states the length and conditions of the agreement, exactly which losses it will provide compensation for, and how much will be awarded. The premium charged for the policy is based primarily on the amount to be awarded in case of loss, as well as the likelihood that the insurance carrier will actually have to pay. In order to be able to compensate policyholders for their losses, insurance companies invest the money they receive in premiums, building up a portfolio of financial assets and income-producing real estate which can then be used to pay off any future claims that may be brought. There are two basic types of insurance carriers: primary and reinsurance. Primary carriers are responsible for the initial underwriting of insurance policies and annuities, while reinsurance carriers assume all or part of the risk associated with the existing insurance policies originally underwritten by other insurance carriers.

Primary insurance carriers offer a variety of insurance policies. Life insurance provides financial protection to beneficiaries—usually spouses and dependent children—upon the death of the insured. Disability insurance supplies a preset income to an insured person who is unable to work due to injury or illness, and health insurance pays the expenses resulting from accidents and illness. An annuity (a contract or a group of contracts that furnishes a periodic income at regular intervals for a specified period) provides a steady income during retirement for the remainder of one’s life. Property-casualty insurance protects against loss or damage to property resulting from hazards such as fire, theft, and natural disasters. Liability insurance shields policyholders from financial responsibility for injuries to others or for damage to other people’s property. Most policies, such as automobile and homeowner’s insurance, combine both property-casualty and liability coverage. Companies that underwrite this kind of insurance are called property-casualty carriers.

Some insurance policies cover groups of people, ranging from a few to thousands of individuals. These policies usually are issued to employers for the benefit of their employees or to unions, professional associations, or other membership organizations for the benefit of their members. Among the most common policies of this nature are group life and health plans. Insurance carriers also underwrite a variety of specialized types of insurance, such as real-estate title insurance, employee surety and fidelity bonding, and medical malpractice insurance.

Other organizations in the industry are formed by groups of insurance companies, to perform functions that would result in a duplication of effort if each company carried them out individually. For example, service organizations are supported by insurance companies to provide loss statistics, which the companies use to set their rates.

Using Indicators to Identify Trends

You've probably heard the expression "the trend is your friend" - but what does it mean? If your trend takes a sudden counter-move and your trailing stop activates at a loss, it's natural to ask yourself: how can you be sure the next trend will be more friendly? Confirm the trend is real Using in combination can help ensure a potential trend has staying power - a good habit for all kinds of technical trading, but especially in forex. Currencies tend to move in trends naturally due to long-term macroeconomic factors and short-term international capital flows. All of this makes it that much harder to see a trade-able trend that will last. Trendlines From a trader's perspective, a trend is a predictable price response at levels of tor that change over time. Trendlines mark these levels, with support acting as the "floor" and resistance as the "ceiling". When prices break through either of these levels, that signals a trend for that movement to continue. It's easy to draw perfect trendlines on historical charts - but harder to be right when the trend is still developing. Still trendlines help focus your attention on finding support and resistance levels, the first step to identifying a new trend. Start by drawing trendlines over longer timeframes (daily or weekly charts) and then carry them forward into shorter timeframes (hourly or 4-hourly). That way you'll highlight the most important support and resistance levels first and not lose the major trend development by chasing a short-term, minor one. Directional Movement Indicator (DMI) Developed by J. Welles Wilder, the DMI minimizes the guesswork in spotting trends and helps confirm trendline analysis. The DMI system has two parts:
ADX (average directional movement index). If the ADX reading is above 20, that indicates a "real" or sustainable trend. The ADX also measures the trend's strength: the >higher the ADX, the stronger the trend. The ADX also provides an early indicator of a trend's end. When it drops from its highest level, it may be time to exit the position and wait for a fresh signal from the the DI+/DI-.
DI+ and DI- lines. When DI+ crosses up through DI-, that's considered a buy sign. When the opposite happens, that's usually a sell sign. Wilder recommends following the "extreme point rule" to confirm the signals. Note the extreme point for that period in the direction of the crossover (the high if DI+ crosses up over DI-; the low if DI- crosses up over DI+). Only if that extreme point is breached in the subsequent period is a trade signal confirmed. Many traders use the parabolic indicator along with the ADX to identify a trend's end. The parabolic indicator follows the price action but accelerates its own rate of increase over time and in response to the trend. The parabolic continually closes in on the price, and only a steadily accelerating price rise (the essence of a trend) will prevent the price from falling below the parabolic, signaling an end to the trend.

How Do I Read the Stochastic Indicator?

Stochastic Indicator is another type of overbought/oversold indicator that is very popular among stock traders and futures traders. This indicator was developed by George Lane in 1960s. George Lane assumed that as the price of an instrument increases, the daily closes tend to be closer to the upper end of the recent price range. On the other hand, as the price decreases, the daily closes tend to be closer to the lower end of the recent price range.

The STOCH is plotted as two lines called %K, a fast line and %D, a slow line. These two lines have the following characteristics: %K line is more sensitive than %D; %D line is a moving average of %K.; and %D line triggers the trading signals. Confused? Deal %K as a fast moving average and %D as a slow moving average. At the 80% and 20% levels, "trigger" lines are normally drawn on stochastic charts. When these lines are crossed, a signal is generated. Stochastic bands are what we call the zones above and below these two lines.

Apply the following formula in order to calculate the stochastic indicator. A scale from 1 to 100 is used to plot the results from the calculations of the formulas below:

%K = [(CCP - LOWn) / (HIGHn - LOWn)]*100

where:

CCP - current closing price

LOWn - the lowest low for the previous n trade periods

HIGHn - the highest high for the previous n trade periods

n- typically it is 14, may also vary. The %K value is 0 when the CCP is the lowest for the last n trade periods. Likewise, the %K value is 100 when the CCP is a highest for the last n trade periods.

%D = SMAn %K

where:

SMAn - simple moving average across n periods; typically n=3

When using Stochastic Indicator, you should be able to determine on how and when to trade.

Overbought / Oversold: The market is in an overbought or oversold mood when one of the stochastic lines crosses the 20% and 80% levels. It means that when the stochastic falls below 20% level then rises above it, then we should buy. And we should sell when the stochastic rises above 80% level then falls below it.

Crossover: The STOCH is plotted as two lines, the %K line and the %D line. They are like two moving averages indicators, one of them is fast and the other is slow. When %K crosses down up the %D, we should buy. But when the %K crossed above down the %D, we sell.

Divergences: There is a good signal for buying or selling the security when there is a divergence between the stochastic lines. The market is weak if prices are making a series of new highs and the stochastic is trending lower.

Simple Moving Average (SMA) and Technical Analysis

One of the easiest methods in Technical Analysis is the Simple Moving Average or SMA. It is the simplest type of all the moving average. The SMA shows the average price of a given time period. And each period carries the same weight for the average. SMA helps to smooth the price curve for better trend identification. In fact, the longer the SMA period selected, the smoother the curve.

Since it is the simplest of all the moving average, the math behind SMA is also simple. The average price of a certain period is represented by SMA and it is calculated by summing up the prices of instrument closure over a certain number of single periods divided by the number of time periods. Take note that short-term averages respond quickly to changes in the price of the underlying, while long-term averages are slow to react.

SMA = SUM (CLOSE (i), N) / N

Where:SUM - sum; CLOSE (i) - current period closing price; N = number of periods in calculation.

For example you want to plot a 5 period simple moving average on a 1-hour chart, you should add up the closing prices for the last 5 hours and then divide it by 5. If you want to plot 5 period simple moving an average on a 30 minute chart, then you should add up the closing prices of the last 150 minutes and divide it by 5. So if you want to develop an SMA chart for USD/JPY closing price in a 5-day time frame, how would you do it?

For example the first 5 days USD/JPY closing prices are 125.0, 124.0, 126.0, 123.0, and 127.0. The average of the first 5 days USD/JPY closing price that will be the first dots of the SMA graph is 125.0. The second SMA point will be (124.0 + 126.0 + 123.0 + 127.0 + 126.0)/5= 125.2 if we assume the USD/JPY closing price for the day six is 126.0. So the calculation goes on for the following dots. And joining these SMA dots defines the SMA chart. In other words, SMA is the average stock price over a certain period of time.

Formula for the 5 period SMA 5 period SMA = (Price1 + Price2 + Price3 + Price4 + Price5) / 5

Simple Moving Average operates with a delay just like any indicator. You are forecasting of the future price, not a concrete view of the future, because you are just taking the averages of the price. Although all calculations will be provided by most charting packages, it is important to understand how simple moving averages are calculated. By understanding, you can decide on which type of tool is best for you.

The Value of Trade Balance to Local Economy

The balance of trade also referred as trade balance, which sometimes is symbolized as NX, is the difference of the monetary value of imports and exports in one economy in a given period of time. The balance of trade is considered the biggest part of a country’s balance of payments.

Imports, domestic spending, foreign aid, and investment abroad are called debit items while credit items includes exports, foreign investments in domestic economy and foreign spending in domestic economy.

A trade surplus is a positive balance of trade which is consists of more exporting than importing. A trade deficit is the negative balance of trade or sometimes called a trade gap. The trade balance can sometimes be divided as services balance and goods balance just like in the United Kingdom which they use the terms invisible and visible balance.

The balance of trade is a part of current account which includes transactions that includes income derived from international investment and international aid. Thus, if the current account comes as a surplus then the nation’s international net asset increases also while deficit will decrease the international net asset.

A good trade surplus is achieved when a country exports products more than buying imported goods. A trade deficit is eventually experience as a result of the opposite of a trade surplus. The trade balance is alike to the difference of a country's output and the domestic demand. These factors may affect the trade balance: prices of goods manufactured, taxes and tariffs, trade agreements, business cycle (home or abroad), and exchange rates.

The trade balance is different in many business cycles. For instance, export growth like oil and industrial goods which improves when there is economic expansion.

In developed countries like; Japan, China and Germany usually run at trade surpluses in which they experience a higher savings rate. Around the world there are different natural resources which a country may have for instance, countries from the coastal regions are major producers of fish, Canada can be a major producer of lumber because of its huge forests while in the Middle East, has the most oil reserves.

International trade is important so in order to sustain the balance of trade. A country should be totally self sufficient without international trade. Through international trades, each country will have the opportunity to produce specialize goods efficiently. In relation, when a nation specializes in producing these goods, the total production increases instead of trying to be self sufficient. Nations will benefit from international trades and also meets their needs. Generally, nations will trade to other nations when they gain from the trade. But the gains are not usually equal in terms of benefits and profit.

What is a Transaction Cost and How to Calculate Them?

In economics, transaction costs are the rate acquired when making an economic exchange. This costs incurred when buying or selling securities or stocks. This is also referred as transaction fees. Transaction costs also comprise of brokers’ commissions ad spreads (difference between the price that the dealer paid for a security and the price it may be sold. This is what the broker or bank produce for being a middleman in a transaction.

For instance, most people when buying or selling a security or stock, pays a commission to their broker and that commission can be considered as the fee or transaction cost for doing that stock deal. When evaluating a potential transaction, it is crucial to think about these costs that might prove significant. Mostly, in financial markets, the initial cost for these transactions is commission which is paid to brokers upon trade execution. This costs becomes increasingly important the shorter the holding time of an investment.

Many market models disregard transactional costs, presumptuous instead those markets are non resistant. While this thought is invalid, for many applications such costs are low enough that they can be disregarded. The lesser the cost for a transaction, the more effective and competent a market is said to be. The Foreign exchange market and stock market have lower costs for such transactions of any major asset class.

It is considered to be much more cost- efficient to trade in Forex in terms of both commissions and transaction fees. An online website for example charges no fees or commissions and at the same time offer traders an access to all relevant market information and trading tools. On the contrary, online stock trade commission ranges from $7.95 - $ 29.95 per trade and up to $100 or more per trade with full service brokers.

Another thing to consider, which is an important point is the width of the bid / ask spread. Regardless of the deal size, foreign exchange dealing spreads are normally or common in 3-4 pips (anyway a pip is .0001 US cents) in the major currencies. Generally, the width of the spread in a foreign exchange market transaction is less than one tenth (1/10) that of a stock transaction, which could contain a .125 or one eight (1/8) wide spread.

Since transaction costs are paid via bid/ask spread, there has to be no charges to trade or hidden fees. There are instances that there would be extra charges asked by good brokers for some non compulsory services or access to particular reports. A smaller spread is visibly better. Since brokers are taking the other side of all the customer trades, brokers gain profit by making the spread between the bid and offer prices. You may find that find spreads vary by broker.

In order to be successful in trading on the foreign exchange market, you have to find a good broker.

Forex Economic Indicators

The execution of in the Forex market is done through the use of economic indicators. These indicators point to the state of some economical factors in the country whose currency you wish to trade with.

Economic indicators are published by various sections of the government and private companies. These statistics are analyzed by market investors to predict the direction of the . Forex economic indicators are published at fixed time intervals, and are followed by any serious online Forex trader.

Since so many people are tuned to use them, Forex economic indicators have a large impact on prices of currencies of the Forex trading market. Most traders do not use fundamental analysis because economic indicators seem difficult. This however is wrong because following simple guides can help you stay updated with the important Forex economic indicators easily.