The Hiking Oil Price and the Recession

2011 might have been the toughest in the recent past with global economy tumbling down to its knees. Many investors felt the pinch and some ventures had to close shop. The majority of the blame was pointed at the price of fuel that has been on a constant rise. As a result, prices of basic commodities aimed for the roof as manufactures struggled to cushion themselves from losses as a result of increased production.

Many couldn't wait for the end of the "doom year" hoping that this year, things would be better. Unfortunately, economists have no good words for the anxious populace. Recession if far from over and if you thought 2011 was the worst year of mankind, then you should brace yourself for even tougher economic times in 2012, especially in West Europe as there seems to be no way out of a glaring recession this year.

The Arab Spring and the Middle Eastern exporters of oil have no enticing words to those whose reliance on oil is massive as the price is set to rise higher in 2012. This is set to affect the growth and expansion of the world's fastest emerging economic giants; China, India, Russia and Brazil. The four currently make up a quarter of the world's economy and are set to reap big in the world's 2012 economic growth. Even though the four are not shielded by the sovereign debts shambles enjoyed by other western world's countries, they have lower debts, stable banking systems, huge reserves and even more importantly, they have an enhanced inter-country trading that guarantees their products markets all year long. The more advanced economies are bound to lose out this year, just like they did in 2011.

In 2010, the price of crude oil was $79 a barrel, but a year later, this price shot to an average of $111 in 2011. With this set to rise further, European nations are likely to experience another year of escalating cost of basic commodities. The Middle East nations have realized that they can use the oil in their countries for the very reasons those they export to use. They are setting up industries and utilizing their oil from within, a trend that is causing both an escalation of the price as well as biting shortage. Even though the Asian nations currently consume only a fraction of what the world consumes, their demand is on a rapid rise.

Fuel consumption per day was 89 million barrels per day in 2011 up from 88.3 million in 2010. Projections have it that the consumption may rise to 95 million barrels per day in 2016, a whopping 25% increase in 16 years. Although supply has increased too, with OPEC reporting a 30.7 million barrels a day and global production standing at eight nine million barrels a day in 2011, the price has not been affected positively as it has remained at a stubborn $100 a barrel.

The price of oil will definitely define the performance of major economies in the world and unless the world leaders and major economy players and industrialist nations that consume a large percentage of this commodity, then we should brace ourselves for tougher times in 2012.

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How Do Oil and Gas Investment Companies Locate and Recover Oil?

Geologists are responsible for the discovery of oil at different locations. They use various techniques to discover oil, as they study the area for conditions that would indicate the presence of trapped oil. Finding the right source rock and the reservoir rock will lead directly to the presence of oil. Satellite images too are used in figuring out areas where oil could be present, in addition to studying surface rocks and terrains.

They use many techniques including use of sensitive gravity meters, which indicate very tiny changes in the gravitational field of the earth, which could indicate the presence of flowing oil. Seismology techniques too are used where shock waves are passed through rock layers, and the reflected waves are studied to check for the presence of oil. Thus, once geologists make a discovery, preparations are made to extract oil through drilling.

Before drilling for oil can commence, the site where drilling is to be carried out needs to be prepared. These preparations include building access roads to the location of drilling, and finding a source of water. If no natural sources are available in the vicinity, pits are created to dispose the rock cuttings that get extricated during drilling. Pits are covered in plastic to prevent any environmental problems. If the site is ecologically sensitive, the extractions will need to be ferried away from the site.

Before the actual hole is drilled, they dig a cellar. This acts as a space for the workers to move around and also to put away the equipment. Before the actual rig is put in place, a smaller hole is dug with a smaller drill truck. This part of the hole is wider and shallower. After these preparations are complete, the rig is brought in.

The oil rig has many components such as a power system, mechanical system, rotating equipment, casing, circulation system, Derrick drill, and blowout preventer. The power system of the rig is made of a diesel engine, or electrical generator, and acts as the main source of power supply.

The mechanical arrangement of the rig is driven by electrical motors, and it has a hoisting system- for lifting intense loads, and turntable- which is part of the drilling machinery. The rotating equipment is used for rotary drilling.

Casing is made of large diameter casing pipes that line the drilled hole, and prevent the hole from collapsing. They also help in the circulation of mud. The circulation system pumps in mud to lift rock cuttings from the drill to the surface.

The Derrick supports the drilling apparatus, and its length helps in adding new sections of drill pipe to the drilling apparatus as it progresses. The blowout preventer is a high pressure valve that prevents a blowout.

The drilling progresses, and once the presence of oil is detected, the well needs to be prepared for oil extraction. Acid is pumped in, which clears channels and leads oil to the well. Proppants too are pumped in and hydrofracking is done. Once the oil has started flowing into the well, the rig is removed and equipment for oil extraction is put in place.

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Alternatives - Investment in Carbon Mitigation Projects

Investors can earn saleable emission reduction credits by investing in projects having Clean Development Mechanism permits or projects registered under the Kyoto Protocol. The emission reduction credits generated under Kyoto Protocol can be bought by the countries committed to stimulate emission reduction and development. It is an ethical investment opportunity and institutional investors have realized huge profits in carbon credit investment strategies. Hence, it is believed to be a gainful opportunity which can provide long time stable profits.

Concerns over global warming

Environmentalists have been raising concerns over global warming from decades and the ill effects of global warming is now visible in the form of poor food grain production, climate change and increasing natural disasters. Carbon credits provide a method to regulate harmful emissions across the globe which is monitored by offset groups that have the authority to authenticate emissions and give credits.

Cap-and-trade mechanism

Countries are adopting new ways to reduce emissions and carbon credits are given for absorbing a fixed amount of emission from the atmosphere. Cap-and-trade tax was implemented by countries, which combined emission trading mechanism and the voluntary CO2 market price, to determine the rate of credits.

The cap-and-trade mechanism was first implemented by the European Unions Emission Trading System which attracted attention of many countries, although, it was also criticized because many could not understand how it will work. The initial three years of CO2 trading (from 2005 to 2007) is considered the trial period of cap-an-trade mechanism which helped to create a background for many other forms of CO2 trading schemes.

Today CO2 is traded in many forms and commitment has been made by many developed and developing countries to reduce emissions by 2050 in the range of 30 - 80%. Some large-scale industries provide Renewable Energy Certificates to trade emission credits and companies are investing in renewable energy resources to reduce emissions.

Carbon credit trading

Carbon credit trading refers to the scheme, in which, carbon will be purchased by industries that are emitting higher amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and this will help to cut emissions. These industries will have to compensate for emissions to get neutral and different forms of environmental calculators are used to assess the amount of emissions.

Generating carbon credits

Carbon credits are tradable and many projects have been created to absorb carbon from the atmosphere to generate credits. These credits can be sold to industries to neutralize the carbon emissions, and forestation project and agriculture are two simple and low investment methods to generate credits. Forestry creates sink which can absorb more than 20 to 30% of emissions, and Capital Alternatives provides opportunity to invest in reforestation projects in Amazon rainforests and Africa to generate regular tradable credits. To know more about the opportunity, contact: info@capitalalternatives.co.uk

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Investing In Agricultural Stocks - Temporary Trend Or Inteligent Investment?

The discovery of agriculture has played a key role in propelling human civilization. More so, agriculture has led to great advances in science and human development. And, in the current era of globalization, the relevance of agriculture cannot be underestimated. Some specialists believe that investing in agricultural stocks guarantees more returns than investing in other commodities such as gold and precious metals. Trading in agricultural stocks involves buying and selling the stocks of companies taking part in the farming business.

Here are some reasons why you should consider investing in agricultural stocks:

Foremost, the demand for food to feed the ever-growing world population will always increase. The current world population is approaching 7 billion. These people will need food to eat. This means that many companies will come up to produce adequate food to sustain this population. Therefore, investing in agricultural stocks will always lead to profits. It is estimated that the world consumes an average of 3,000 bushels of grain crop every second. This figure is about two times what we consumed back in the 1970s. If the current trend continues, it is estimated that this figure will more than double over the next two decades. This illustrates that the amount of pressure on the global food supply network is huge, and this should give you a good reason to invest in agricultural today. Next, investing in agricultural stocks provides a good blend between social work and business. If you invest in agriculture, you will be spurring the country's economic growth and creating jobs for other people. Particularly, this would lead to better quality of life for those in the rural areas. As such, it is a win-win situation for everyone; and more so, you are making another person's life better. Some businesspersons do not like throwing their money in agricultural stocks because they think it is a risky avenue of investment. Just like any other type of investment, agricultural stocks have their own risks and benefits. However, its risks can easily be surmounted if you learn how to manage them. And, the advantages of investing in the agricultural sector far outweigh its disadvantages.

To this end, it is evident that investing in agricultural stocks is the way to go if you are a savvy investor. Besides earning you good returns, you will be doing your part in kicking out hunger from the world. Investing in the agricultural sector is the sure way to go, start today!

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The Top 10 Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry

Oil and gas have a great impact on the world economy because of the crunch of energy sources. Though there are various risks involved in setting up an oil venture, there are widespread opportunities as well. The industry is a money-making cake that has always bagged the top position in the economy graph. Oil and gas industry is a powerful one and it overturns the economies of many countries.

The top ten opportunities in the industry are listed below.

1. Frontier acreage: It is probably the main thing that has an impact over the industry. The operational boundaries have increased with time and so has the competency. Frontier acreage was not in the technology 30 years back but has increased gradually.

2. Unconventional sources: The energy demand is high and hence opportunities are wide for unconventional sources of energy.

3. Conventional reserves in countries like Iraq and Nigeria have also attracted investors because of flexible government policies. But areas near the Arctic still pose a threat to the operators because of its environmental challenges.

4. Market demand is almost always lying between 26% and 51%, because of which subtle investments are made every year.

5. The Partnership between the IOCs (International oil companies) and the NOC's (national oil companies) have boosted the economy and faced difficult policies bravely.

6. Oil companies are now investing in R&D and innovation so that new techniques can be found to make extraction more environment-friendly.

7. Biotechnology seems to be gifting to the oil industry with emergence of second and third generation of bio fuels.

8. Strategic partnerships among cross sectors have evolved into major investments in technology.

9. Oil industry, just like other industries, runs on the regulatory confidence for business survival. Since now various national governments are involved in energy sector so licensure maintenance is not so difficult

10. There have been many acquisitions in the competitive industry, which have been promising for the world economy. Mergers and acquisitions in the oil industry have a major impact on the world economy.

Opportunity Ladders

It presents the snapshot of the top ten opportunities for companies in the oil and gas sector. It is based on research by people who are into the industry for many years and are well acquainted with all the boons and banes. They give four drivers of success that are:

· Customer reach

· Operational agility

· Cost competition

· Stakeholder confidence

These are outlined to study the market and companies' potential to face the challenges that are faced by the oil companies.

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Fundamentals of Binary Options Trading

The latest trend catching up fast for making fast income is trading in binary options. Although it is a fairly new platform it can help return profits from 75 to 80 percent per hour. It is more or less similar to the more traditional means of investment. It is very straightforward and its fundamentals are similar to the more conventional trading methods. These principles set traders that reap big profits stand apart from the rest. Making money out of speculative investments is no easy task but if played well with the fundamentals then it can turn out to be a huge source of income. The following points must always be remembered when entering the world of binary options:

Improve your trading skills

Traders are usually advised to put their focus on one special class or type of market to make the best out of their trading skills. This causes them to have a sounder and deeper understanding of how the market really moves and why it moves that way. Developing a shallow knowledge of all the different types of trades makes you a 'jack of all and master of none' which in the longer run is usually not very profitable. This is also true for the case of Binary options and trading.

Money management

Traders sometimes lose sight of what is easy and what is more profitable. While they are making profits consistently they might lose sight of the small things that matter the most. In Binary options and trading, effective money management is the key. Strategies can be simple as the losses and the gains are relatively fixed and one does not require paying a brokerage fee to enter into the trading sphere. But in all this traders must not forget about the other fees such as withdrawal fees and manage them wisely. For example: consider two traders A and B. Both of them have the same amount of capital gain but A takes care of the smaller miscellaneous fees such as the withdrawal fees unlike B and thus makes the number of withdrawals accordingly. This causes a big difference in the net income they make. Thus money management causes A to make more profits than B.

Mere emotion is not enough for successful trading

Many investors trade on the basis of their feeling of how the markets are going to move. This is one of the most bogus ways of trading and not always effective. It sounds easy and comforting but it is usually not applicable. It is thus always wrong to trade without a strategy. If you are not taking the data and the analysis that is put together by some of the best minds in the business then more or less it is gambling! Basically trading on mere emotion is like gambling. You stand a 50-50 chance of making it. Traders tend to decide what action to take on the basis of technical analysis made at support and resistance levels along with the timely economic data usually released on quarterly basis. In the case of binary options which have a comparatively longer time of expiry the strength of the assets can be found out by a fundamental analysis before.

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Is the Price of Silver Signaling the Next Monetary Supernova, or Will It Be the Cause?

If the pricing in the world's commodity and financial markets accurately reflected anything but the culmination of decisions made by high frequency trading systems, then the recent price action in the silver market might have something meaningful behind it. In an alternative parallel universe, the recent rally in silver might actually be 'pricing in' the next major monetary event.

The Fed's second round of quantitative easing was announced on November 3, 2010. Nevertheless, the price of silver had failed to break through the psychological $20 level by mid-September of that year, after having been stuck trading around the $18 level for what had seemed like an eternity to most traders.

The Technical Picture Shows Silver Approaching Key Trend line

The series of charts below show silver's price action over each year from 2009 to date. In recent months, silver has been consolidating within what looks like a descending triangle pattern that is now approaching its apex.

Silver's price has also just pushed above a long term down trend line that forms the declining top line of this triangle pattern, which is drawn through the successive highs seen on April 24th, 2011 and February 26th of this year. If its current $30.13 level is broken convincingly to the upside, this trend line will then provide support for a rally even higher in silver.

What Does This Silver Price Action Signify?

Although no one really knows where the price of silver is headed in the short term, the recent near term trend has been quite bullish for silver. As much as it feels as though it is about time for silver to make a substantial move, most of you should be pre-conditioned for what might come about as early as tomorrow or next week.

Sentiment in the silver market has been soft for many months, and it will probably remain fragile over the coming month. Furthermore, open interest in silver contracts has increased steadily; even as open interest in gold futures has fallen. In addition, the net short of the four largest banks has increased as well. This means plenty of room exists to trigger a sharp sell-off, as the market has seen before.

Although the price of silver will someday pass through its fair value based on supply and demand fundamentals, it is unlikely that this appreciation will happen gradually or in an orderly manner.

Any meaningful upward trend in silver will surprise everyone, including those of us who have been studying and following the day-to-day price action and news in silver for years. While it is difficult to not feel optimistic about silver in the short term, since for the price of silver to take off without any news feels quite constructive. Nevertheless, no one really knows.

Silver's Price Pushes Above Key Moving Averages

It seems just as easy to blame the rally in silver on a computer glitch 'working the other way', than on a closely followed technical indicator like the 200-day Moving Average. Nevertheless, the price of silver is now trading just above its key 200 day Moving Average, which currently reads above the $30.50 level. A sustained break above that closely watched indicator can signal many longer term silver traders and fund managers to enter the silver market on the long side.

Speaking of technical indicators, the short term moving averages have also been exceeded, as was the 100 day average. Silver also broke above psychological resistance at the $30 level. Of course, this is how the professional traders make their living by watching technical signals like these.

In the trading world, the market is now approaching an inflection point where momentum and human emotions start to influence the market-driven pricing dynamic. Real supply and demand - and the undeniable existence of manipulation and control in the silver market are apparently forgotten - for now at least. The 'house' is starting to rock.

For more articles like this, and to stay updated on the most important economic, financial, political and market events related to silver and precious metals, visit http://www.silver-coin-investor.com

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Emerging Markets Across Africa

With clouds of economic meltdown thundering all over the world, investors are having a tough time to take their decisions. With news of so many companies seeking bailout from the government and the stock markets collapsing continually, the investors world-over can get skeptical about their decision to invest in a particular economy or in a particular market. With so many markets failing, investors have been looking on to those untouched and unexplored markets with high potential. In such a situation, Africa has highlighted itself as the next big market that promises unprecedented growth in the near future.

One would think that on seeing the economic scenario across the developed nations, investors cannot even think of zeroing down on Africa as their next destination for investment. Analysts would think that international investors would rather wait for the situation to get stable, and then invest in the favorite markets. Anyone having the above-mentioned notion can be proved wrong straightaway. Yes, Africa is one continent where stock markets have been booming and investors have been focusing on sub-Saharan Africa in the recent times. Surprisingly, Africa has a market capitalization of over and above $100 billion and its stock markets are considerably larger when compared to what Russia and Central Europe were when they were opened to foreign investors in 1990s.

Sub-Saharan Africa consists of nearly 48 countries with population of well over 800 million people; and this region does not include Middle East or Northern Africa. This population is nearly three times the population of United States and this is a great factor to make it a big market. However, South Africa is considered the most developed economy in this region, and accounts for nearly one-third of GDP of Sub-Saharan area. Number of stock markets in this area has multiplied with new stock markets in Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, Swaziland, Malawi, etc. Just to let you know the potential and growth of this area, the market capitalization of stock markets in Africa jumped from $113 billion to $245 billion from 1992 to 2002, which can be considered as outstanding by any standards.

The region is experiencing tremendous growth in terms of penetration of mobile phones and development of banking systems. Furthermore, the region has noticed increased foreign investment along with loan disbursement in the last decade. In addition to all this, countries like Ghana, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, and Uganda were ranked as "emerging markets" by International Monetary Fund.

Undoubtedly, Africa still has a long way to go, but its progress in the past few years has been outstanding. It is definitely the next stop for investors who want to reap handsome returns. After all, you need to be optimist.

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Lucrative Land Deals in West Africa

In 1960, the world population was 3 billion but last year it became 7 billion and it is set to become 9 billion by 2040. The world population is rising at a fast pace and the major problems faced by the growing population is a scarcity of clean water, food and energy. At the current level it is estimated that 70% more food will be required to feed the growing population by 2050 and with the rapidly changing environment new limits on agricultural production has been created, in contrast to, the increasing demand for food.

With the rise in demand for food, the price of food grains increased in the last decade at a fast pace. The current cycle of rising food prices started in 2000 and in 2007, the food prices surged to very high levels resulting in starvation and riots in countries such as Egypt and Haiti. As the value of land is increasing, investors are rushing to own farmlands in different parts of the world as a trend for investing in sustainable agriculture and global food security.

It is believed the soil in Africa is very fertile having a good quantity of organic matter, which can produce a quality crop without the use of fertilizer. Africa is playing a major role in the global arena in offering millions of hectares on lease for investment in agro-forestry projects which involves growing food grains on wasteland and reforestations for creating carbon sinks. Many forested land area in Sudan, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Nigeria are offered through free market policies, which involves structural adjustment programs to suit agro-forestry. Millions of hectares of land have been negotiated by investment firms for agro-forestry projects in West Africa because there is the need for modernization of agriculture and introduction of new ways to enhance productivity to meet the growing demand for food. The developing countries offer agricultural land and investors benefit from the profit earned from the sale of agricultural products. Also these opportunities create employment opportunities and offer economic growth of the local population.

The land in West Africa is very fertile, which can be used to grow sugar, oil, rice, and many other types of food. In 2009, the World Bank estimated approximately 60 million hectares of land in developing countries is either under lease or purchased for the purpose of investment. The main purpose is to provide food security, human rights, education, health facilities and employment opportunities to the local population and the investors are benefiting from the sale of harvest and land appraisal. The investment land in West Africa helps to fight hunger crisis and rice farming generates carbon credits.

Sierra Leone recently celebrated 50th independence but it has not seen proper development in the past 5 decades and is not prosperous since gaining independence from Britain, in 1951, although, it owns huge mineral deposits and natural resources. With the new changes in land owning polices and growing investments, the government aims to provide employment opportunities, education and infrastructure development in Sierra Leone.

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Know More About Binary Options Trading Systems

Whenever an investor trades in equities and derivatives, one thing that he is always reminded of is that, in order to be successful in trading, one needs to keep emotions at bay. On hearing this, some of us may find it vague and a bit more abstract but it is a very significant effect that happens to many new traders. Usually it has been observed that whenever new investors start off a new position, they tend to grow attached and stick to it irrespective of the direction in which the market moves. Now here is where they make the mistake! They end up rooting for their position instead of an analysis or adjustment according to the new information and market moves. Many traders have been stop-lossed watching their position, thinking that it would move in the way they thought it would.

One of the biggest road blocks in successful trading is getting too attached to your stocks. One must learn to let go of them according to what the market demands. This requires complete separation from the securities or derivatives invested in by the investor. However, when one talks about Binary Options and trading, emotions play a different role altogether. Usually on opening a trade one cannot leave it before expiry. Some investors think they would take care of this problem. But the mistake in their perspective and psychological fallacies still come into play when traders repeat it even though the data discourages it only because they had success with it in the past.

In order to avoid incurring losses because of human attachment to stock and their psychology on trading, computerized binary options systems are now available. Big financial companies use such kind of software with algorithms and models, although retail traders still follow the conventional tactics. These mechanized means include tools to recognize factors such as proper entry position and exit time using graphs etc. A system might, for example, say that the proper time to buy a put binary option would be at the end of a support line when the chart crosses the support line. This indicates a downturn.

To become successful with binary options trading, one should have some experience in any one binary options trading system. Compared to stocks and forex, the online binary options trading system is fairly new. Consequently, there are new trading features being developed all the time within the binary options world, which have caught the attention of many traders.

But there is always a second side to the coin. These systems do not come in cheap. Investors must carefully research all their options based on the kind of trading they do before venturing out to buy such a system. Also they must also keep in mind that no binary options system can guarantee a hundred percent correct output. They do fail at times. Still they are a good means to help you trade successfully.

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Covered Calls: A Strategy for Investment Strength

Anybody can invest in stock market. Investing in stock market in today's world is not a big deal. Every other person does that as we need money for everything. There are people who invest without any knowledge and lose all their money. Covered calls are the best way to earn good returns. Of all the option strategies, covered calls is the best. It is very simple, but still many people have trouble in using it properly. Most of the people lose money because they are not aware about the ever changing stock market. A good covered call screener can help you to make lots of money in the market. A lot of companies offer trial versions of covered calls to their customers. Before joining any broker house, it is better to opt for trial version first. If it works for you, then you can go for the covered call package. Free covered call screener is also available on the internet but remember that the free version does not have all the features of the paid version. Make use of a good screener in order to make huge money.

Covered call has become an exciting new term in the investment industry. Now bear in mind, this is not a get rich quick strategy. This is a new kind of software tool that can help you make better investment decisions. Like any investment tool, this comes with no guaranteed returns. But if you're willing to really focus in on how the product works, you can create worthwhile investment strategies by using this concept. You can develop and grow as an investor by taking part in the great revolution of high tech investing. You're going to be able to see the results when you invest in the future of your society. You really are well on your way to becoming the kind of person that can take a little bit of money and create a brand new kind of internet business that just keeps on giving. Don't give up on yourself, and don't give up on this concept. This is something that could really change your life.

It's an income oriented strategy that does take time. As pointed out earlier, it is not a get rich quick scheme but if you put forward the time and effort to really do it and also do it right, then you are guaranteed to see an increase in what you do.

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Electing an Energy Policy

The general consensus is that economic disparity and prosperity or, lack thereof will be the primary focus of this year's elections. The primary components of these discussions will be gas prices, unemployment and the federal deficit, which includes the entitlement programs and taxes. We will take a brief look at each of these over the next few weeks as we run through the primaries and the 2012 election begins to take shape.

Job programs, tax breaks and legislation do not have the immediate impact or direct effect financially or psychologically as gas prices. The unrest in Iran due to their pursuit of nuclear technology has caused the price of crude oil to rise more than 11% in the last month. The national average for gasoline has risen by nearly 13% over the last year and now stands at $3.56. The real issue here is that we've yet to approach the peak driving time of Memorial Day weekend. At these prices, the average historical seasonal increase around 12% could tack on more than $.40 per gallon pushing the national average to $4. This would make filling up the tank a $70 proposition for many drivers and push the average monthly outlay towards $200 per month.

Much of this spike is due to European Union economic sanctions on Iran. These actions were fully supported by the United States while Russia and China were the only dissenters among the E.U. Security Council vote. Iran's retaliatory response was to halt shipments of oil to France and Britain. This is akin to a child's toy being taken away with the child's response being, "I didn't want that toy anyway." The sanctions prohibit financial dealings with Iranian banks making it impossible to broker a deal for shipments of oil in the first place. The geopolitics of the event solidifies Eastern European and Asian alliances for the world's fourth largest producer. Oil revenues account for 50% of Iran's GDP. Therefore, they must find a market for their oil or face a domestic political nightmare.

Here in the U.S. the President is going to have to face some tough choices. High gas prices impart a very real feeling of inflation on the vast majority of the voting public. Even people not directly affected by higher gas prices will cringe when filling up. Meanwhile, the rest of us will be forced to alter our plans to accommodate rising expenses.

The tangible impact of this will bring energy policy to the forefront of the primary debates among his challengers. Thus far, President Obama has been reluctant to spur domestic fossil fuel production and infrastructure improvement. This stance is clearly reflected in his unwillingness to open domestic drilling in Alaska and the Gulf and further reinforced by his unwillingness to support reversing the Keystone pipeline. Lastly, will he choose to tap the strategic reserves as he did last June? This will dampen gas prices in the near term but what will replacing that oil on the open market cost in the future?

The United States is moving towards the path to energy self-sufficiency. It has been 20 years since the U.S. has consumed as much domestic energy as we did in 2011. This proves that we are on the right path and that's a good thing as developing countries like China and India begin to hoard oil to create their own strategic reserves which will continue to bite into global supply well into the next Presidential cycle. Therefore, Republican challengers must be able show that their plans to spur domestic production will be done in a taxable and environmentally conscious manner.

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Commodities Options Trading in the Era of Dodd-Frank

US binary commodities options traders have been stymied since the implementation of Dodd-Frank legislation last year. Beginning in July 2011 binary option sites began winding down their operations with the last contract going offline at year-end. Today US investors do have some alternatives in the commodity space. Here we take a look at how Dodd-Frank changed how contracts are traded and what traders are doing to continue to invest and make money with binary commodities options.

Dodd-Frank Cuts Off Order Execution

Many US investors in binaries were caught off guard last year when their brokers discontinued offering positions on their favorite precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and copper. Similarly stymied investors were those operating in the Forex space. What was the common cause for their sudden inability to trade their favorite assets? Unfortunately the common cause was specific clauses in the financial legislation which prevented order routing on the back-end of contracts. While no specific law or rule prohibited the sale of these securities, brokers were no longer able to legally route orders for these futures related contracts. As a result the brokers had to (one by one) discontinue offering contracts as their back-end trade partners were no longer able to route orders for them.

US Residents Left Out of the Market

It was not long ago that a major market maker in the binaries space folded up shop, according to sources at the CBOE in Chicago. Although there is no specific evidence as to why the market maker discontinued operations in the space the timing of the shut down (just after Dodd-Frank rules began taking effect in April 2011) is probably not a coincidence. Other firms remained open for business however - allowing at least some binary trading activity through year-end 2011. Once the last firm shut its doors to US residents the only known alternative at the time was to form an off-shore partnership and or establish residency outside the United States. Failing that the Forex and commodities options trading space was closed for US residents.

Traders Await Rules Clarification

As previously mentioned the trouble for US residents trying to trade Forex or commodity option contracts was not the expressed prohibition of the practice, only the inability of their brokers to legally route orders. Like many financially related laws, many of the details of implementation are left to industry regulators (such as the SEC) to write and implement - with time for commentary from the public and interested parties. Many of the leaders in the binary trading space fully intend to offer assets again to US residents once the rules get finalized - or the law gets repealed in whole or in part.

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Safeguard Your Future and Your Money Via Investments

The growing Indian economy ably supported by a plethora of banking facilities has made investments a popular method of safeguarding your money while also helping it grow in the capital market.

The banking facilities in India together with the growing capital market have led to a rise in demand for investment plans. An investor can check and opt for the most suitable plan according to his requirements. While some are short term investment plans, others accrue long term profits. Before you finalize investments of any kind, it is necessary to check the involved risks and the likable return which you can expect from the market.

Popular Investment Plans in India

There are a number of plans which assure secure and reasonable returns.

Bank Fixed Deposits (FDs): This is one of the most popular and probably one of the safest investment plans in India which is popular among small and big investors. This can be both short and long term plan with the tenure ranging from 15 days to 5 years and above. Senior citizens are offered exclusive return rate of 10 percent as compared to 9.25 percent for normal investors.

Insurance policies: This plan offers suitable return while offering coverage for you and your loved ones. Insurance policies are considered as the best long term investments in India and range from the popular home insurance to life insurance to car insurance and health policies. One can choose according to his needs.

National Saving Certificate (NSC): If you are looking for making short term investments in India, then check this scheme which is backed by the Government of India and is under Section 80C of Indian IT Act. In most cases the investor is offered a return interest of 8 percent which is paid twice a year.

Public Provident Fund (PPF): Another Government of India supported plan, this savings option is valid for a minimum amount of Rs.500. The maximum an investor can invest in this policy is capped at Rs.100,000. To avail this scheme, an investor needs to open a PPF account in a general post office or in a nationalized bank. Rate of interest is generally 8 percent but remember this is a long term investment plan which is locked for the fixed tenure.

Stock Market: If you are a risk taker and want to make easy and fast money, then there can be nothing better than stock market for you. However, before you invest in the Indian Stock Market, always check the market condition and update yourself about any news related to the stocks.

Gold Deposit Scheme: Started in 1999, this is one of the new forms of saving schemes which has no investing cap for investing individuals. Generally, you can invest a minimum amount of 200 grams in exchange for a gold bond for a fixed period of time.

Real Estate: With the property prices rising every second, what can be more profitable than investing in real estate? According to experts, the realty demand touched 150 million square feet in 2010 and has been rising till date. With an annual profit rated spiking at approximately 50 percent, this is a profitable scheme for long-term investing in India.

Other forms of investments in India are mutual funds, private equity, and Non Resident Ordinary Funds.

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