Press Releases Scams and Successes: Reading Between the LinesWritten by Chad Pington
Even novice investors are likely well acquainted with Press Releases, however it may serve all investors to review some important aspects of them. Press releases are a means through which companies can keep public up to date regarding their recent affairs. It is duty of every public company to keep its investors and indirectly potential investors aware of what is going on in company. It should not be forgotten, however, that it is in ultimate interest of company for price of stock to increase. Consequently, companies are increasingly selective about what and how information is presented in such releases. Your mother always told you, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." That popular adage holds particularly true with regard to penny stock companies' press releases. Certainly all press releases are optimistic; companies would not release them otherwise. But when looking to invest in a company, be aware of overly ambitious, optimistic, and unsubstantiated press releases. A company that has had annual revenues of 10 and 11 million for past two years and that claims that coming year will bring revenues of 40 to 50 million, better have a darn good reason. Examining press releases by breaking down argument into its underlying logic is an excellent way of uncovering reasoning that has been intentionally muddled to appear better than it is. For example, if a company says that its software sales increased 300% over past year but do not indicate what percentage of their total revenue was composed of software sales, be suspicious. If a company does not lay out a detailed plan explaining how they will make money and increase earnings, it is likely that their only source of revenue is selling valueless shares to sucker investors. Another diversionary tactic more frequently employed by Pink Sheet Stocks but which have also been used by OTC-BB stocks, is ambivalence about their filing status. These companies know that one of most sure-fire ways to increase price of stock and thus earnings of investor is if stock becomes listed on a higher exchange. (That is, OTC-BB for Pink Sheet Stocks, NASDAQ for OTC-BB, etc.) Because of this knowledge, unscrupulous marketing firms or even companies themselves will release information indicating that they either will file or have filed financials and paperwork necessary to apply for another exchange. This release is typically followed by a sharp increase in stock price, and then…nothing. If pushed company generally makes up some garbage about how for one reason or another now was not a good time to file after all, but that they had sincerely planned to all along. The reality is, they were driving up price so that they could dump stock and make a killing off unsuspecting investors. Unless you specifically know 100% for sure that company has actually hired personnel and then physically handed over financials to be evaluated, you should follow this simple advice: When a company says = What it actually means is We are planning on filing this quarter = We are planning on selling our shares this quarter. We have filed with SEC = We will soon be under investigation by SEC for what we are currently doing. That is not to say, however, that you should not generally trust and act upon Press Releases. One type of positive Press Release of particular note to Penny Stock investors is when a small firm announces that they have entered into an exclusive agreement with a larger company to perform some function or service for that company. This sort of press release is particularly important for potential investors for a number of reasons. The first is that unlike announcements which optimistically prognosticate about future, this sort of announcement is verifiable through partner company. For example, if ABC Internet Technologies Company signs an exclusive contract to provide General Electric with its accounting software for next five years you can be assured that price of ABC Internet Technologies Company will skyrocket. To verify announcement, you can check with more established GE who should also release information on contract. Some of most pertinent information will be; size of contract, exit penalty on part of GE, as well as anticipated initial investment on part of Penny Stock Company. This will allow you to predict new valuation of company and use this information in deciding on your own plans for buying and/or selling stock.
| | What is a Flexible Mortgage?Written by John Mussi
'Flexible mortgage' is a term that's used a lot, but what exactly does it mean? A flexible mortgage allows borrower to make extra repayments when they have extra money and even reduce or skip payments should need arise. A flexible mortgage allows you to make extra payments to reduce amount outstanding on your mortgage thereby reducing interest you're paying or pay off your mortgage earlier than planned. Imagine being able to save money in mortgage interest, or borrowing enough money pay off your credit cards or personal loans, or buy a new car at a low rate of interest. That's exactly what flexible mortgages enable you to do. Flexible mortgages allow you to save money by cutting length of your mortgage term. You can also buy yourself more time when money is tight by reducing your monthly repayments or increase you mortgage if you need to borrow money. 'Flexible mortgages', also known as 'Australian mortgages' are fast becoming most popular way of taking out a new mortgage. Flexible mortgages are designed for people who want option to vary their mortgage payments to match changes in their cash flow. To varying degrees, they let you underpay, overpay, take payment holidays, pay off lump sums and borrow back overpayments. Flexible mortgages come in various guises but they mainly allow you to make extra lump sum payments, borrow back money, allow you to take repayment holidays and also allow you to make underpayments. Some flexible mortgages will double up as a current account, where your salary is paid in monthly and so you are in effect paying off a huge overdraft. Unlike some traditional loans that still charge mortgage interest on an annual basis, fully flexible mortgages calculate interest daily, which means that any overpayments you make are immediately credited against your loan, thus reducing your interest costs. This gives you flexibility to manage your mortgage payments to suit your cash flow needs as your circumstances change.
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