A Historical Look At Guaranteed Investment Certificates

By Amy Nutt

Guaranteed investment Certificates, (GIC) are Canadian investments that provide a guaranteed rate of return over a fixed period of time. GICs are normally provided by banks, credit unions, and trust companies.

The earliest forms of guaranteed fixed-income investments included such investments as bank notes and mutual funds. The first Canadian fund, Canadian Investment Fund Ltd. (CIF), was established in 1932. It changed its name to Spectrum United Canadian Investment Fund in 1996, and this fund changed name at the end of August 2002 to CI Canadian Investment Fund. Investing in guaranteed investment certificates, or GICs, has been the safe and sound choice from the time when registered retirement savings plans became available in 1957. GICs were created to give people a guaranteed return on an investment. Back in the 1970's, interest rates on investments were higher averaging about 7.7 per cent and as much as 15.8 per cent in 1982. Part of that high interest rate was due to higher price inflation than today.

Interest rates are lower now. Over the past five years, GICs with a five-year term have paid an average of less than 3 per cent a year. Because Guaranteed Investment Certificates are low risk, there is normally a lower rate of return. With a GIC, the financial institution will borrow the person's money for a specified amount of time which can be six months, one year, two years, or up to 10 years. When the GIC period has ended, your initial investment will be returned plus any accrued interest.

To own a GIC you must deposit at least $500.00. When the period has ended, one can then cash them as taxable income or renew it for another term. If you cash out before the term as ended, you will be required to pay a fee. GICs tend to pay a higher interest rate than bank savings accounts, but less most other investments. Interest rates tend to range from 1-9%.

There are other types of GICs such as Market Growth GICs. Their interest rates depend on the rate of growth in the stock market. This is a bit more risky as the market rates tend to fluctuate. Just like regular GICs, Market Growth GICs are low-risk because your original investment is guaranteed to be returned.

GICs are a popular investment choice due to their safety and security, guaranteed growth. (The interest rate is guaranteed with fixed-rate GICs,) flexible terms, and flexible payments. With some GICs, you can decide how you collect the interest you earn, such as monthly, annually or at maturity.

Guaranteed Investment Certificates make for a sound investment if you want a protected place to save your money. GICs could be used as a part of a fixed income portion of your portfolio, used for retirement supplemental income, or just to hold your money until you come up with a number of long-term financial strategies.

Guaranteed Investment Certificates have had a long history of providing Canadians with low risk financial planning investments for retirement or other investment endeavors. Investment portfolios will benefit from having an investment with a guaranteed rate of return. As well, these investments are often selected during periods of market volatility. - 23196

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Whether you're looking for mortgage rates or great GIC rates, with Meridian Credit Union you'll have a customized financial plan that makes sense for you. Just for you.

Affordable Sterling Silver Charm Bracelet

By George Pertonio

The silver charm bracelet is one of the all time traditional jewelry items still considered to be of immense value to fashion fanatics. This trendy accessory can be seen sported by the young and old alike.

You will be able to find loads of variety out there in the market today ranging from reasonably priced simple sterling silver charm bracelets to the more exquisite high end ones.

Sterling silver charm bracelet have a history that spans centuries, and was first started as a fashion item by Queen Victoria in the 19th century when she put a charm bracelet on her wrist containing family images showing her ancestry.

Over the years that trend caught on with women and girls alike and now the charm bracelet can be found on the wrists of all age groups.

The sterling silver charm bracelets that you will be able to find in the market today have many different stories to tell. What makes charm bracelets different is that they are a sort of interactive piece of jewelry.

You can build on and add charms as you require. You can pick your desired charm from your world travels as a memento to record your journeys.

In fact you can select any theme that you like from sports to a hobby like surfing, golf, knitting, painting or gardening. Just display your interest on the charm bracelet by adding an item that reflects your interests.

With its appeal with all genders and age groups, the charm bracelet can be a unique gift item because you can personalize it according to the interests of the person you want to gift it to. This unique jewelry item helps you personalize the gift at its best.

Since anything and everything can be creatively added to make a unique item that appeals to you or anyone who looks at your bracelet, you can find just the item to match your requirements and style.

From caricatures, cars, thrift items and flora, you can find a charm that suits your requirements.

Though silver is incorporated in the charm bracelet, the real appeal of this fashion accessory lies in the fact that it is a timeless piece that takes on a life of its own as the wearer adds on charms as time goes by.

This unique jewelry item can be purchased at different prices from designers or from craft and hobby outlets

Whereas some charm bracelet designers will charge you for their design others incorporating precious gems like diamonds are high end charms that can be added onto your charm bracelet. - 23196

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Sterling silver jewelry is a popular gift choice for family and loved ones. Tolearn more about choosing sterling silver charm bracelets please follow the links.

Forex Phantom Automated Software Review

By Will Jones

The popularity of Forex trading systems have been increasing for the past few years with an increase in the amount of people who start to trade on the exchange market.

Throughout the past two years, the interest in currency trading has meant that there was an increase in the number of people begin to trade in the currency markets, which resulted in more tutorials and strategies have been written about trading systems and have been shown.

What is Forex Trading System?

A Forex software system otherwise known as a currency trading system is a software tool used by over 90% of all Forex traders worldwide. They are among the most popular software tools used in the finance sector today and have become one of the most advanced pieces of software in the finance sector.

Since the arrival of these Forex systems have advanced ten times, where are they now use complex algorithms which are able to adapt to several, if not all market conditions.

These software tools are able to provide certain conditions for Forex market traders, and thus they are able to provide jobs that will be most profitable businesses and who will be most safe. This ensures trades to win the Forex traders and make their job much easier.

They think and I do not have the money to buy one of these systems and think they are usually back at a reasonable price and one that I will speak, is a good example. Forex trading is not about your work, whether its a hobby or a career with one of these systems is the Forex your chances of winning ten times.

Why Forex traders use system?

Many currency traders have decided, a Forex trading system, while in the foreign exchange market. The reasons are obvious if you start with these systems. The advantages of these systems are astronomical minimal risks such as trade and the possibility of the search for profitable business only by an analysis of the foreign exchange market.

Forex traders have now become dependent on these systems to enable them to quickly and efficiently analyse the market and target specific trades to invest in to. One of the best points with these systems is that some of them can be left on auto pilot so that you don't even have to be working or at your computer whilst the system analyses the market data and trades in and out of the foreign exchange market.

What to look out for?

With the increase in popularity of these Forex systems like with anything else comes the various systems which lack the quality and precision that some of these systems have. These systems are generally released with out sufficient testing within different market conditions and therefore are not reliable and cannot guarantee profit.

In the past, these software systems have been released with a lazy eye development, they have only a few algorithms, which means that the software only on the condition of a particular market, according to this market condition, it will be useless until the same condition appears again.

The systems have also used the complex interfaces, which in some cases, have been confusing for Forex traders, this has meant people were not able to take full advantage of the range of features that are sometimes available on the Forex and systems instead they were used.

How to choose a Forex robot?

Many people in the past have purchased the wrong forex systems if these systems are arriving, there have been some developments that are driven purely to raise money from people that are no real benefits to the forex dealers. Well, even if things have changed now, we are still a number of Forex, the quantity of which they can benefit their users, the key is to find out which forex system makes honest information.

When searching for a Forex system you need to ensure the sales page does not make any unrealistic claims that are unreachable, even from the most experienced Forex trader.

Forex Phantom passes this test, with its own unique features and simplistic yet professional design it has become this years most anticipated trading system owned by all, that are trading in the market.

This system features a new advanced real-life algorithm that allows it to proceed with an exchange conditions. This is the first currency trading system, these advanced features and while it may sound complex, the system is an easy-to-use interface that even the least technically demanding and can make money.

Forex Phantom has become the fastest selling foreign exchange trading system in the world and that's in a matter of weeks. This system is designed to be beneficial and profitable to the user, designed by financial market experts and developed by expert software developers it has surpassed its own expectations. - 23196

About the Author:

Read the Forex Phantom review for an in-depth analysis of the most popular Forex software currently available. Read the Forex Phantom Review right here.

Why You Should Have A Forex Trading Guide

By John Sandler

Without the proper background knowledge, attempting foreign exchange or FOREX training can be very risky. When starting at the beginning, it is very important to stick to the FOREX guide until you feel comfortable with all the ins and outs of this type of trading.

To begin, it's useful to develop an understanding of exactly what foreign exchange trading is and what it's about. Foreign Exchange trading, or FOREX for short, involves the buying and selling of any of the world's currencies in the hope of profiting from their rise or fall in price.

Familiarity with the market can help, but FOREX trading is unpredictable and currency values change quickly, creating a fair amount of risk. If you dont keep yourself abreast of the relevant news, FOREX trading may not be the right fit for you.

A FOREX trading guide will help you learn the basics in the area of trading currencies. These guides will teach you knowledge such as the reasons that cause fluctuations and appreciation of currencies, the terms used for currencies exchange, which currencies are frequently traded and where FOREX traders usually profit from while trading FOREX currencies.

Remember FOREX markets require much determination and patience! These markets are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week! Things will be moving very fast paced for you at first, which will create lots of uncertainty regarding when you should on a buy or a sell. Having a reliable guide can help to "slow down" these events and make them intelligible for you.

This is an additional reason how a FOREX trading guide is helpful. You can get trading tips and on the speed people trade currency pairs but, be foretold that you won't get solid information about this, only guesses.

The way you make money is in itself very simple. You trade between two or more different currencies of your choice. For example, if you believe that the Euro will increase in value and the US dollar will decrease, you would trade US Dollars for Euros. If the Euro appreciates, then you can trade it back for a nice profit.

While a FOREX guide is important in learning how to trade, it will not tell you the future of the markets. Changing values of currencies are tied to a number of difference factors such as global events, traders speculations, and interaction between other countries. These complicated interactions are what make FOREX trading so unpredictable. - 23196

About the Author:

To learn forex, you really need to check out this website: Forex Trading Explained

http://ezinearticles.com/?Chinas-Electronics---Why-You-Should-Buy-Them&id=2487008

By Gawel Newell

For China, the electronics industry has not been so much a curse to their history-rich culture; instead, it has become a boon to their economy that they have made to fit in a perfect way. Because not only do they now create computers, mobile phones, etc., but China electronics leads the way in their export industry.

In the not so distant past, it wasn't always easy for the small business or individual person to get electronics products from China. There were lots of barriers, many of them created by the United States government. However, thanks in large measure to the Internet, a lot of these barriers have started fallen. Now you can order global resources from just about any industrialized country. Electronics products have especially taken off the world of shipping and exports, and China is one country that has hopped onto the electronics-export bandwagon.

Buying globally is possible through finding suitable providers and manufacturers in online site directories. If making a section search throughout these directories, there will be varieties of providers from China and in other countries with your suitable requirements.

In fact, the best sites do a good job of hiding the fact that you're dealing with an Asian export business. As with any other retailer's site, you'll simply visit the site then click on what you want or do a search on the product you're seeking.

These export sites look and operate much like a website from a state in the next town over. If you've decided you want a computer or mobile device from china, then it's just a matter of doing a Yahoo or Google search on a keyword phrase such as "China mobile phones." As an example, if you searched for "China computer manufacturers, " the first link, as of this writing, is "Global Source."

For strategies and shipping data, make a category hunt in a directory to find online data banks of requirements and requirement lists. The World Customs Organization also has put in its national customs online sites consisting of helpful data. China's export goods embody automobile parts and extra fixtures, computer supplies, apparel and material, telecom products, computerized supplies, etc. Also, worldwide buying of China's export products are available all over just by doing online purchasing.

There are other reasons too, of course. China also is succeeding in exports of electronics and other products because it has a massive labor force--and coming full circle to our original point, it makes superior use of technology to sell technology. In fact, many United States firms have started regularly buying the exceptional and affordable electronics goods from the Chinese markets.

Plus there are other things that make China competitive. For instance, their success in electronics exporting comes because they have a huge labor force. Plus, as we mentioned in our first paragraph, China does a great job of using technology to sell technology. In fact, it's quite common now for American firms to buy their electronics products from Chinese markets, right along with their purchase of Chinese clothing and toys. This trend is likely to continue as the Internet continues to level the playing field in the world of global exports. - 23196

About the Author:

When thinking of cheap electronics China is first destination that pop up in ones mind. According to Gawel Newell China electronics is has almost become synonymous with cheap quality electronics.