Foreign funds: Value of the US Dollar goes ↑?
Foreign/int’l currency less valuable bc can buy less with other countries’ monies, more expensive to buy US goods because the dollar buys more.
Foreign funds: Value of the US Dollar goes ↓?
Foreign/int’l currency more valuable bc can buy more with other countries’ monies, less expensive to buy US goods because the dollar buys less
So in a weird, ourobouros kind of way, US companies competing in the global market prefer the US dollar to go down because then foreign markets can buy more US company goods, which increases the profits of those selfsame, tail-eating US corps (did that on purpose) … true zombie economy.
So, the book talks about a few investment strategies to keep the portfolio pie somewhat intact.
Caveat: ALL INVESTING IS RISK. All of it. Nothing and no one is safe. BUT … if you’re a rat wanting to exit the race, investing is the only off-ramp.
OK so options are contracts that buy or sell the right to buy or sell. Riiiiight.
One strategy for trading in options is “Covered Call Writing,” which means an investor/seller owns a particular financial instrument (e.g., stocks, bonds, whatevs … “the good”) and wants to sell “the good” for a certain price at a certain time.
OK so here’s the example: buyer/investor owns 300 shares of BootyU, purchased at $5/share.
[Total investment/purchase price = $1500 (300 x $5 =)]
BootyU pays a quarterly (once every three months – Jan / Apr / July / Oct) dividend of .25¢ per share.
[Total dividend paid each quarter = $75 (300 shares x .25 =)]
The buyer/investor in BootyU can decide to sell his shares in BootyU BUT only if the share price increases to, say, $7 (the “strike price”). So (now)seller/investor [still buyer/investor but now on different side of the sale] tells the market: “Hey! I think shares in BootyU will increase, and if you want a piece o’this, I’ll agree to sell my shares in BootyU for $7/share if you (the market) pay me a “premium” of $2.00 per share, or $600.” So the market agrees to pay $600 for the right to purchase 300 shares of BootyU for $7/share, even if the shares are sold elsewhere on the market for $10, $12, or even $20.
If the market elects not to buy the shares – does not exercise the “option” – the buyer/investor gets to keep the $600 AND the 300 shares in BootyU.
Now, that’s a very quick and very dirty example, and there are many more moving parts (time limits, expiration of the option, etc.) and the stock may drop in price. Just another tasty piece of the investment portfolio pie. Go watch Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd in “Trading Places” for the pop-culture reference.
So, like anything and everything else, do the homework, “do the due diligence” as it t’were, and get to buying/selling/investing … if more than just the paycheck to paycheck / paycheck to parking lot(?!?) existence is the goal.
Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered … but first they have to get fat, and wild hogs can be deadly.
Keep those options open.