Risk Archives

How to Ask for a Pay Raise Without Getting Fired

According to a Careerbuilder survey, a whopping 56% of workers have never asked for a raise, and women are less likely to ask than men. An analysis by Salary.com found that failing to negotiate could potentially cost you more than a million dollars over the course of your career. But, how do you ask for a pay raise? There are a couple of techniques that you can use to learn how to ask for a pay raise. Although unemployment rates are currently at their lowest levels since before 9/11, a major problem for many people in the workforce is stagnant wage growth. Some local and state governments have increased their minimum wages in an attempt to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living, but even so, … Read more

A Look At The Difference Between Investment And Gambling

by Guest Contributor

Investing in the stock market and gambling at a casino are often compared and deemed to be very similar ventures. Both the difference between investment and gambling involve risk and choice in hopes of future profit. Investors and gamblers have to decide how much they are wanting to risk.

Some traders typically risk between 2% and 5% of their capital base. Long-term investors often spread their money across different investments in order to try and minimize potential losses as a form of risk-management.

Risk-management in gambling is also proficiently sought after by professional gamblers. They look at whether odds are in their favor before they make a bet. A key comparable principle in both gambling and financial investing is to minimize risk while maximizing profits.

Difference Between Investment and Gambling

However, there is a huge difference between investing and gambling when it comes to stopping losses. In gambling, particularly in sports gambling, there are no loss-mitigation strategies due to the activity being so speculative.

Stock investors however can set up stop losses on a stock investment which is the simplest way to avoid unnecessary risk. If stock drops 10% below its purchase price there is an opportunity to sell that stock to someone else and still retain 90% of the risk capital.

However, if you put a bet on that states that Tottenham Hotspur Football Club will come first in the Premier League, you cannot get any money back if they come second. You will lose everything you’ve put on, which isn’t the case when it comes to stock investment. Gambling is mainly to do with pure chance, and there are a lot more loss-mitigation strategies when it comes to financial investments.

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?

by Hank Coleman

Your retirement account is most likely the most important investment account you’ll ever have. The reality is that we work incredibly hard to retire; spending the vast majority of our lives working and saving so that we can enjoy our golden years. However, in times of geopolitical risk, unrest, and war, several people lose everything they’ve worked for; forcing them to work long into their retirement years.

The threat that geopolitical risk and unrest is becoming to retirement investments and how converting your 401k retirement plan and other qualified retirement accounts to gold can help protect everything you’ve worked for.

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?

Russia vs. Ukraine

The first geopolitical issue on the chopping block today is the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine over the Crimea Peninsula. The Crimea Peninsula is property of Ukraine.

However, Russia claims that they have legal rights to the strategic land. As a result, months ago, Russia brought troops to the Crimea Peninsula. Since this move, we’ve seen military action from rebels and Russia and corresponding responses from Ukraine.

In an effort to end the crisis, the western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia for their aggression toward Ukraine. In response, Russia refused to trade many food products with western countries; ultimately leading to more financial troubles for the Eurozone.

In the beginning of this conflict, it was a major part of the stories we heard in the news. While news coverage has died down a bit, the conflict between the two countries is very much alive.

Three Things You Should Do In A Turbulent Stock Market

by Hank Coleman

Three Things You Should Do In A Falling Stock Market

There have been some turbulence in the stock market recently. There are been more days than not that have seen a hundred point swing one way or another. But, you shouldn’t fear a falling stock market.

So may even think that the US stock market is in a financial crisis. So, what is an investor to do during a turbulent, falling stock market?

3 Things To Do In A Falling Stock Market

Tune Out All Of The Noise

One thing that I do that many people do not understand is that I don’t watch the news. There is so much negative press out there that I often will get bummed out with all the news.

And, now with hundreds of television stations and many dedicated strictly for financial news, there are so many people out there with an opinion about a falling stock market. Everyone has an idea or a thought on where the market is headed, why things are happening the way they are, and of course what you should do. And, do nothing is hardly ever on that list.

It is hard to earn a commission or capture people’s attention if you tell them to do nothing. But, often that is exactly what you should be doing…nothing.

So, turn off the television. Tune out the noise. There is so much noise out there.