January 7th, 2010
When you buy a bond, you are essentially loaning a company or municipality money. They promise to pay you interest for the loan in the form of a coupon rate and they promise to pay back the loan principal by a certain date, which is referred to as the maturity date. While in theory bonds are a good investment, there are three types you should steer clear of.
1. Callable bonds: The issuing company can “call” or payback prior to the maturity date. These bonds are especially risky for investors because, if they are called, you might lose the yield you anticipated (since you won’t get the coupon rate for as long as you thought you would) and you might not be able to reinvest the principal into a bond with as good a rate. If the bonds are not called then you will end up earning what you anticipated.
2. Junk bonds: Bonds are rated based on the perceived ability of the issuing company or municipality to pay the interest and pay the principal back by the maturity date. Some bonds are rated low by Standard and Poor’s and other rating companies because the issuer does not seem financially able to live up to the obligation created by the loan. These bonds are called Junk Bonds and are often popular because of their high interest rates. But remember, their interest rates are high because they carry such risk.
3. Municipal bonds in IRAs: Municipal bonds that are highly rated are great bonds to buy–outside of an IRA. Municipal bonds can be triple tax-exempt when purchased from your home municipality. They generally have a low interest rate which is compensated for by the tax savings on the earnings. But when you buy a tax-exempt bond and place it in an already tax-exempt IRA, you lose out on a higher interest rate without increasing your tax savings.
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January 5th, 2010
Due to the climate change policies, several companies will have to cut down on technology that causes emissions. So, investors who have greener technologies have the right opportunities to invest. Also, investors looking for portfolios should do it with greener companies. The technologies that cause emissions have to be changed and people should invest in a department that cuts down these emissions. It will become mandatory for most industries.
So, the climate change policies are not only opening up newer avenues for investments, they are also creating newer jobs and work profiles.
Industries, manufacturing units and productions houses all over the world will have to invest in greener technologies. After the recent Copenhagen Meet on climate change for world leaders, there are going to be several new policies affecting the business cycle in all the countries. All the countries that have participated on the meet have agreed on a consensus for investing in greener technologies and also saying goodbye to technologies that caused emissions. This may spell loss in capital letters for several industries that have just invested in the state-of-the-art polluting interfaces.
Governments will have to come up with newer policies to come up with the capital. There are several investors in the market who are ready to invest. However, most of them pick a country that gives tax breaks. Investors are also putting their money to save the environment and that is why a tax break is the most genuine idea. Also, industries which cut down their emissions considerable will have several incentives in the future.
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