• When it comes to the holy trinity of investing, (stocks, bonds and cash) it seems the rules and nuances of investing in the bond market often are the most baffling for newcomers.

    For this edition of Investing 101 we are going to demystify the bond market and have put together five quick tips to help you get your head around buying bonds.

    1. What is a Bond?

    Simply put, a bond is a loan. Just like a mortgage, bonds involve a lender and a borrower, and also come with a predetermined interest rate and maturity date that never changes. And just like you and me, bond issuers also have credit scores (or ratings) that make it more or less expensive for them to borrow depending on the likelihood that the lender will be paid back. Bonds typically are sold in $1,000 increments and have a face value (or par value) in the same amount.

    2. How Do Bonds Work?

    A bond is essentially a contract between a buyer and a seller in which the borrower (or issuer) agrees to make semi-annual (twice a year) payments to its creditors (that's you) until the agreed upon term is up (the maturity). At that point you get your original investment (or principal) back in one big lump.

    The amount of these payments is determined by an interest rate (or coupon) that is fixed for the life of the bond or loan. You may have heard of the term "fixed income" investments before, well now you know it's because your Treasury bond, come hell or high water, will pay the exact same income, a feature that is particularly adored by retirees.

    Read More »from Understanding the $38 Trillion Bond Market in 5 Easy Steps
  • You can be forgiven for thinking this already happened but Apple (AAPL) has officially surpassed Coca-Cola (KO) as the world's top brand, at least according to Interbrand. It's the first time in the 14-year history of Interbrand (a creator and manager of brands) that Coca-Cola has not been in the top spot. The beverage maker actually fell to third behind Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT) round out the top five.

    In other Apple faux-news, CEO Tim Cook is rumored to be meeting with activist investor Carl Icahn in Manhattan today. Icahn revealed a position in Apple shares in a Tweet from his @Carl_C_Icahn account. The message triggered a more than $22 billion market cap increase for Apple. If a tweet is worth $150 million per keystroke one can only imagine the value of a lunch between Icahn and Cook.

    Hedge fund manager Simon Baker of Baker Ave Asset Management expects Cook and Carl to have a pleasant lunch but doesn't think there will be much in the way of fundamental developments. "I think it's really good PR for Tim Cook that he's really listening to someone," Baker says in the attached clip. There isn't likely to be much beyond a nice chat and perhaps a cup of coffee.

    As far as matters other than artificial rankings and Tim Cook lunch plans, Baker likes shares of Apple about as he has in his prior visits to Breakout. Even with all the buybacks and dividends Apple is sitting on a ton of money and more is coming in every day. The iPhone 5s was a big winner and there are expectations for a new iPad Mini in the works but Apple needs to keep the ideas cranking out if the shares are to break above resistance at $500.

    Read More »from Apple Ranked #1 Brand, Can Stock Regain Top Reputation Too?
  • Twitter Co-Founder’s Next Project Could Be Even Bigger

    Twitter has revolutionized the way we communicate 140 characters at a time and has catapulted its co-founder, Jack Dorsey, to legendary status.

    The Wall Street Journal named him "innovator of the year" in 2012. Fortune recently ranked him second on their top 40 under 40 list. Reuter's and Popular Science have compared him to Apple's Steve Jobs.

    Related: #TwitterIPO: Let the Frenzy Begin!

    Dorsey's next project, Square, could be even bigger. The rising star now has his sights on commerce; changing the way you and I buy and sell goods.

    Started in 2009, the company allows merchants of all shapes and sizes to accept any form of payment they choose – cash, checks, or credit cards - and replaces the bulky cash register with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone or iPad.

    "We want to make commerce easy and if we make it easy we can help our sellers grow and really give them time back to build their business and focus on what’s important to them," Dorsey tells Breakout in the attached video. "The merchant doesn’t have to think about which card brand is coming over the counter and if it’s cash or if it’s check, they just focus on their business and that’s what we want to enable them to do."

    That may sound like change enough, but the potential game-changing feature of the company is the data it provides to users.

    "What’s your most popular item, what happens on a Tuesday, what’s your most popular day, what happens when it rains? These are pieces of data that a lot of local businesses, a lot of neighborhood places just don’t have access to because it’s spread out over so many systems," Dorsey explains. "But Square makes it easy. You can literally watch in real time."

    Read More »from Twitter Co-Founder’s Next Project Could Be Even Bigger
  • Stocks around the world are Breaking Bad this morning.Weak global markets and the realization that the U.S. government may actually shutdown tonight are putting pressure on the U.S. indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), S&P500 (^GSPC) and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) opened down roughly 1%, but are slowly paring initial losses.

    Global markets are also feeling the heat with the Nikkei 225 (^N225) closing down 2%, the Hang Seng (^HSI) down 1.5% and Europe's FTSE (^FTSE) is trading off nearly 1%. The FTSE hit its lowest levels of September with miners getting smacked after the HSBC Chinese Manufacturing PMI was revised down to 50.2. Anything below 50 marks economic contraction.

    The selling marks a prevailing shift in attitude from last week and the apathy of the last couple weeks. The S&P closed last week at 1,692; just 2% off all time highs and up strongly for the month of September. "If they're going to shoot at me and that's all they've got then bring it on," says Scott Nations, founder and CIO of NationsShares. "But that's a really dangerous view to have when we're talking about Washington because it could really get ugly."

    Related: The Upside to a Closed Government

    For the most part traders are still banking on the looming shutdown in DC ending in a similar manner to the debt ceiling debacle of 2011 and the fiscal cliff lunacy of last year when the steep sell-offs proved to be buying opportunities. In 1995 and 1996 brief government closures had no meaningful impact on the markets according to a report sent out this morning by the Lindsey Group.

    Read More »from Stocks Pressured by Looming Shutdown, Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Get Spooked

Pagination

(2,719 Stories)

About Breakout

Breakout is Yahoo Finance’s daily all-out, roll-up-your-sleeves, dive-in, interactive investing show, offering fresh segments throughout the trading day. If you love making money, if you want to protect what you have, if you’re passionate about understanding these crazy markets, you’re in the right place.

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