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What Are The Warning Signs of a Gas Leak?

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A gas leak is a very serious problem that requires immediate attention. If left unchecked, this may lead to serious consequences. For one, inhaling high concentrations from a natural gas leak can cause asphyxia (when you don’t get enough oxygen).

This then can lead to death. Aside from that, a gas leak may also cause a fire or an explosion. So if you notice a gas leak, it is important to act and call for help immediately.

If you feel you have a gas emergency, you must leave the premises immediately, turn your gas supply off, if it is safe to do so. Once you have done this, you can call a gas fitting Sydney plumber to help you repair the cause of the leak.

Here are the gas leak warning signs you should look out for:

1. Rotten egg smell

The first and most common sign you will notice when there’s a gas leak is a horrid smell. Initially, natural gas in its pure form is colourless and odourless. But since this makes it difficult to notice, experts added a chemical called mercaptan to make it easier to detect whenever it starts leaking. So while this rotten egg smell may be awful, it can save your life.

2. Hissing noise

When you hear a hissing or whistling sound near your gas line or around your yard, make the call. This may just be the sound of gas escaping through a crack or a leak in the pipe. 

3. Mist or cloud

Another warning sign to take note of is a mist or cloud. This is usually caused by a tear or a rupture on a gas line. If you reside in Sydney, make sure to contact a gas fitting Sydney professional once you see this white fog or cloud.

4. Dead or unhealthy plants

If you notice that the grass, plants, or vegetation in your yard is unhealthy, dead, or discoloured, there might be a bigger problem than just forgetting to water them. See, gas lines can leak even under the soil. When this happens, it restricts oxygen from the plants.

Additionally, a gas leak can also cause bubbles in still water or blow dirt around your yard. So you see, never ignore little things.

5. Physical symptoms

When the amount of oxygen in the air is reduced, you may feel some of the physical symptoms of a gas leak. These can include any of the following:

· Dizziness

· Fatigue or drowsiness

· Headache

· Difficulty in breathing

· Flu-like symptoms

· Chest pain

· Loss of appetite

· Blistering (when in direct contact with gas)

· Nausea

· Nosebleed

· Eyes and throat irritation

If you have pets, they might also experience some physical symptoms caused by a gas leak. These are symptoms you should watch out for in your pet:

· Difficulty in breathing

· Lethargy

· Watering or red eyes

· Vomiting

· Change in mood or behaviour

· Loss of appetite

· Sore throat

For very high levels of gas, your pet may become unconscious or may even die.

6. Higher than your normal gas bill

If you notice a big change in your gas bill, call your local gas fitting Sydney service provider as this can be an indication that gas is leaking through your pipes or lines. Have them check and inspect your systems to see what’s causing the sudden rise in your bill. Also, this way, they will be able to find the faults and risks and prevent them from causing any more problems in the future.

How to buy stocks in the Australian stock market

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stock market crash with covid and stock picks recovery

The current stock market is in turmoil with a lot of volatility in share prices here in Australia, however there is a growing number of people who think getting in now could be profitable for them in the long term. So how do you get into the stock market ? How do you buy shares to take advantage of the current stock market tumble.

There are two different ways that you can get into the stock market  and buy and sell shares

1. Sign up with bank share trading account that allows you to buy and sells shares

2. Sign up with a stock broker that specifically allows you to buy and sell shares.

There are other ways to buy shares like buying a bunch of blue-chip stocks or buying an ETF (which is also buying a bunch of shares) – but we will come to that later.

Banks as a stock trading buy and sell platform

Most big banks allow you to sign up with them for a stock trading account so that you can buy and sell shares. If you are already signed up with one of them, just enquire with them. Here is a list of banks that facilitate stock trading

1. Commonwealth bank ( Comsec – their share trading platform)

comsec trading australia

2. National Australia Bank ( Nabtrade – their share trading platform)

nabtrade

Below we give you further details about brokerage fees these bank charge and also prices for some popular dedicated share trading platforms.

How much money do I need to start trading the stock market?

Technically, there’s no minimum amount of money needed to start investing in stocks. But you probably need at least $500 — $2,000 to really get started right.

How do I make money in the stock market?

There are many ways to make money in the stock market, however the most simple method to understand this is when you buy a share today that cost you $500 , but its worth tomorrow is $600 and so you sold it – then you just made $100

To break that into much more realistic detail and give you an example

Eg. Say you got $500 to invest

Westpac bank shares are $15 each today, so you bought 32 Westpac shares

32 Westpac shares X $15= $480 + (add $10 bank fees for buying)

Total cost is $490 to buy the shares

Three days later (or six months later), there is a bit of recovery and Westpac share price rises and is $20 each share.

You had bought $32 shares earlier; you sell it today for $20 (that’s a $5 increase in the share price)

32 shares x $20 =$640 – $10 bank fees

You have $630 from your sell

Sell price $630 – Bought price $490 = Your profit $140

The bank does not charge you anything for holding the shares, but charge you for each buy and sell, which bring us to our next point -broker fees.

Now say if that investment was $5000 instead of $500 your profit could be $740 in one trade

How much does it cost me to buy and sell shares?

stocks to check

Every broker and every bank have different set of prices for buying and selling shares. It really comes down to ease of use, broker fees and availability of stocks to trade on each platform. Here is short comparison of some top bank and broker fees

Share trading fees – Banks

Commonwealth Bank – Comsec Fees:

For shares under $1000 in value – $10 each transaction

For trades between $1,000 and $10,000 – $19.95 each transaction

This is called the brokerage fee

Website https://www.commsec.com.au/support/rates-and-fees.html

National Australia Bank – Nabtrade Fees:

Up to and including $5,000 – $14.95 each transaction

From trades between $5,000.01 – $20,000 – $19.95 each transaction

Website https://www.nabtrade.com.au/investor/pricing

Share trading fees – Brokers

Two popular brokers apart from Banks are Self wealth and Ig markets. They both allow trading in Australian stocks as well as international stocks and CFD.

Self-wealth trading fees:

Brokerage fee for every trade, regardless of size – flat $9.50 (Only Australian Shares)

self wealth trading

Website https://www.selfwealth.com.au/online-trading/


IG markets Trading fees:

Trading Australian shares – $8 per trade or 0.1% whichever is higher

For US markets – US$10, or 2 cents per share

ig markets australia

Website:https://www.ig.com/au/charges

With IG markets you can do Australian and US stock market trading and also trade in CFD’s for which you have to sign up separately with them.

Other share trading platforms worth mentioning are ANZ share trading, Bell Direct and CMC markets.

Most banks and stock trading brokers provide additional data and tools for company and stock analysis, creating watchlists, setting price alerts, creating specific set price buys and more. Features offered can differ from platform to platform.

With Comsec and Self wealth – All trades are CHESS sponsored

There are two ways for shares to be held:

CHESS Sponsored Shares – Shares that are registered with a stock broker (CommSec or another broker). CHESS Sponsored Shares are allocated a Holder Identification Number (HIN) by the broker.

Issuer Sponsored Shares – Shares that are managed by the issuer of those shares via the issuer’s Share Registry. Issuer Sponsored Shares can be traded through any broker, providing conditions set out by that broker are met. Issuer Sponsored Shares are allocated a Security Reference Number (SRN).

In reality it does not make much difference to your trading profit, if it is chess sponsored or issuer sponsored.

Risky Stock Trading with penny stocks

There is a difference between big companies and small companies (smallcaps) and with small companies come more risk in comparison with blue chip stocks like BHP, Westpac.

Some traders can get lucky and pick a small company stock that can become a winner.

Take for example FMG – Fortescue Metals Group (iron ore miner)

This stock was once trading for between $2 and $3 – Today the price is $10

Say you dropped $5000 when it was $2, so you got 2500 shares of FMG

You sold it when it reached $10 today x 2500 shares=$25,000

You just made $25,000 from $5,000, however this is very rare- though people have gotten lucky with their stock picks and made money.

FMG was once a small cap with lot of debt and considered risky, but now they have paid up their debts and are considered much safer than they were before.

ETF’s

Another popular method of buying into shares right now is called ETF’s . With buying an ETF you have options like buying into a group of shares  where you can also invest by putting money in a regular basis  as low as $50 a month/week. Some providers/brokers also allow you to invest  in ASX 50 or a lumpsum into a group of blue chip stocks.

ETF’s are available through bank trading platforms

Learning how to trade the stock markets is essential, before you decide to have a punt on your hard-earned money.

The stock market can make you money, but it can also take your money and put you at a loss. Doing dummy trading, joining stock trading groups and researching companies for three to six months is a good idea before jumping right in. Good luck!

Article written by Jeff – I blog about stock trading – Check my stock market blog over here

What do you need to become a profitable trader?

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traders in trading

Many traders are concerned about the required timeframe to become a profitable trader. They try to get a basic idea of how much time it takes to become a proper trader. It must not be the main concern of the rookie trader. Instead of thinking of the timeframe to ensure a decent profit, you need to think of the trading quality. It is necessary to think of the trading plans. If not you, someone else will take your place with an improved trading mindset. He or she would work with a proper trading plan. There can be a good risk management plan for the trades. With the two important things for the trading business, it is possible to manage a decent profit from the trades easily.

All of it is not possible unless you ask the right question related to becoming a profitable trader. In this article, we will discuss the necessary aspects of trading properly. You will get the idea of preparing a proper plan for the trades. Besides, you also will get a decent idea of risk management.

Take care of the risk exposure properly

To become a profitable trader, you will need a proper risk management plan first of all. It will improve a proper trade setup for the executions of the trades. The risk management plan helps you to create a proper order for the trades. Being concerned about the safety and security of the trading business, the traders think of the least investment into the trades. Then they also decrease the investment with simple leverage. You need to know a decent risk management plan so that the risk exposures get a consistent setup every time of executions.

If you use a 1% risk management policy and leverage it with a 1:10 ratio, it will be good for your business. It helps to work with a proper position sizing. From the influence of decent risk management, you will also think of decent profit potential. So, the market analysis will be easy for you to handle. With all things covered for quality execution of a trade, it is possible to expect a decent profit. Make sure you use the best SaxoTraderPro trading platform to filter the best trades. Keep things simple in trading to reduce the risk exposure.

Use an effective trading plan

From the risk management plan, the pro AU traders will hold the trading money properly. But, the actual execution of the trades will need a proper plan. That is why the position sizing and market analysis needs a proper plan. The traders need to be consistent with every single procedure of trading. Along with the risk per trade, it is also necessary to trade with profit target. When you have a decent profit target like 2R as compared to the risks, use the other strategies for the position sizing. Try to find a proper signal which can satisfy the pip count necessary for your profit target. Also, try to use the fundamental analysis to understand the market condition properly.

After every necessary element is being used for a quality trading approach, you can expect profits. Even if the market behaves the opposite of your assessment, you can handle the losses with proper stop-loss. For a rookie trader, it is the first duty to learn to be safe in Forex trading.

The position sizing is very important

If the traders can define a position sizing for the trades, it is possible to set the stop-loss and take-profit. They are both useful to keep your trading business safe from losses. The stop-loss helps to protect a trading position from losing too much. On the other hand, the take profit helps to be safe when sudden price movement tries to turn your profit into a loss. Both of the tools are good with the executions of the trades but traders need to learn using proper position sizing. If they can learn the best market analysis strategies, it will help them to set proper entry and exit points for the trades. Thus you can use the stop-loss and take-profit properly.

Simple Steps to Starting Your Small Farm Business in Australia

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farm and trailer australia

If you’ve already got land and are looking to start a farm – whether it’s for practical reasons, such as using your own organic farm to provide food for you and your family, or just because you’re looking for something to do with your time and your land – getting started is a fun and approachable process! Farming in Australia does require some planning and foresight, but setting up your own farm is a highly rewarding process that can be as enjoyable as it is useful.

The Basics

First, before anything else, make sure that you know what you’re getting into! Farming is a large commitment of time and energy. Plan out the steps you’ll need to take to get your farm up and running – shop around farm machinery sales for equipment to make your life easier, such as small tractors for both organic farms and standard farms. You can also opt to use proper diesel engines and generators from Kubota to improve fuel efficiency on your farm. Accord fertilizer spreaders are really handy tools to help make sure you’re using your time and energy efficiently – don’t create more work for yourself than you have to.

Getting Up and Running

Look carefully at your land to decide what you’ll be able to grow and maintain. You might need to be looking at a customised trailer for your farm site. Farming in Australia presents several unique challenges, and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help or advice along the way. Move at a slow and steady pace while you determine the needs of your particular farm’s crops; an easy way to burn out both physically and financially is to move too quickly and take on more than you’re ready for.

Maintaining Your Farm

Remember that you’ll be putting a good amount of money into your farm for a year or two before you start becoming comfortable with the process and that it can take even longer to turn a profit if that ends up being your goal.

No matter what the length of time, make sure you’re maintaining your finances – keeping a budget (and keeping it up to date!). It is one of the most useful ways to make sure you’re sticking to a sustainable pattern of work.

Maintaining your farm equipment regularly to extend their life-cycle. Some parts such as auto-glass might need to be replaced more often than other parts. Be diligent in the physical work you do and the records you keep; this will ensure that you minimize risks among the factors you control, leaving you to work with factors you can’t control, such as weather and wildlife.

Planning and Thought: A Winning Combination

Make sure you’re putting careful thought into the start and development of your farm and you’ll find the process both challenging and rewarding! Modern technology has made the ancient systems of farming much more manageable and maintainable, and you’re in an excellent position to take advantage of the benefits these technologies offer.

Make sure you plan and move slowly when you get your farm up and running and you’ll be able to look out over your work in relatively little time, full of the pride that only an endeavour like farming can give.

Featured Photo © Pixabay

About The Author:

Caroline Bird is a creative writer and digital marketer. She loves sharing her perspective, tips and how-tos related to home improvement, productivity, business, technology, and SEO through her writing. Connect with Caroline via @bCarolinebird12

How Did the Markets React to the ECB’s Interest Rate Announcements, and Mario Draghi’s Press Conference?

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Sometimes, announcements from the ECB and the following press conference with bank president Mario Draghi can be interesting occasions that leave us with plenty to discuss – such as the time in April 2015 when a protestor attacked Draghi with glitter and confetti before he had a chance to make his comments. The interest rate announcement on the 19th of January in Frankfurt, however, was far less dramatic, both in terms of content and eventfulness.

image

Royalty Free Photo

No Change in Interest Rates

As anticipated, the ECB has decided to keep interest rates as they are for the time being, reasoning that the desired effects of the current low rates were beginning to show. The refinancing or ‘refi’ rates are to stay at zero, and deposit rates will remain at -0.40%, This is not only what was expected from this announcement, but is expected to be the status quo for some time to come.

It was also announced that quantitative easing will be set to continue without any reduction in investment from the current rate.

Mario Draghi’s Dovish Stance

Draghi’s press conference did surprise some forex and indices trading analysts – with positive signs indicating a potential uplift in the inflation and growth in the Eurozone, some were wondering why quantitative easing is to continue at its current rate. The answer that was received was that core inflation isn’t showing a convincing enough upward trend to convince Draghi and the ECB that quantitative easing (a program of investment by the ECB into government bonds intended to bolster the Eurozone countries) should begin to be reduced at this time.

Draghi is known for his prudent, sensible and often – in trader terms – dovish style, and this was very much in evidence on this occasion. It is likely that Draghi intends to wait and see how things play out in the changing economic landscape that is being created by events like the UK leaving the single market, and Trump beginning to put his presidential plans into place.

The Market’s Reaction

In the time leading up to the announcement, the euro ramped up a little, before taking a bit of a dive after Draghi’s press conference. This indicates that some might have been hoping to see some more bullish tactics from Draghi, especially with regard to quantitative easing (interest rates not changing was already taken as a given). However, the days when announcements like these take place are always volatile ones for currency pairs that include the euro, and generally, there are no real knock on effects from this, with the euro seeing a bit of turbulence throughout the trade day but ending up pretty close to where it started.

Effectively, this has been an interesting time for the euro, but with Theresa May’s announcements about her plans for Brexit involving leaving the single market and Trump’s official inauguration, for once, this ECB announcement was probably one of the least impactful things to happen in the week’s trading!

Some analysts predict that QE will need to start being dialled back soon, and that now would have been better than later, however other than that, there was very little that could be read into this announcement and press conference other than that the ECB doesn’t seem keen to add any more complication into the global mix right now!

Three Sources of Extra Income that You Could Be Capitalising On

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chart trading

 

It is human nature to want more. Although you may be lucky enough to have a beautiful home, two cars parked on your driveway, and the funds to holiday abroad at least once a year, it’s a given that if someone told you there were ways to increase your income, you would want to hear about them. Well, here we are, and we’re telling you exactly that.

Intrigued? Then here are three ideas to inspire you…

#1: Seek a Pay Rise or Promotion

 

The obvious place to begin if you’re hoping to increase your monthly income is with your employer, and if you’ve been working hard and delivering good results, it may be time to seek a reward. A lot of people lack the confidence to raise such an issue with their manager or boss, but it’s only fair for your efforts to pay off. Women, in particular, have been shown to be too embarrassed to actively try to secure promotion or a wage increase, yet studies indicate that such requests are often successful, and even on the occasions when they’re not, they’ll usually help to put you at the forefront of your employers’ mind when the next opportunity arises.

#2: Freelance

 

If a wage increase or promotion is not on the cards, it’s time to think outside of the box and start looking for opportunities elsewhere. Freelancing can be a great place to start, and whether it’s using your existing skills to earn a little extra money on an evening, or taking advantage of a hobby and offering tuition to others, there are lots of talents that you can capitalise on. Tout for business both online and locally to maximise your chances of attracting interested parties, and then sit back and wait for your future clients to contact you.

#3: Investing

 

If you’d like to try something else entirely, investing is another option for you to consider. There are dozens of different markets and financial instruments to choose from, from stocks to futures to forex. With various levels of risk and reward across different assets, there’s something to suit everyone, and profit-making opportunities abound. Brokers like AxiTrader are usually all too happy to speak to potential traders, and will offer you the chance to demo their platforms so you can decide whether investing is really right for you before you have to commit.

If you’re looking to boost your income, could one of these methods work for you?

Trading binary options for profit

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options trading with binary

Trading and investing can be a tricky field if you don’t know what you are doing . But if you get it right it can also reap nice monetary gains. Binary options are a growing popular trading option that is growing in popularity in comparison to many other popular trading methods like share investing , Forex trading and other alternate investment options like hedge fund investment.

Trading in Binary options involves getting in and out of options and locking in your profits if done successfully.

So What are binary options ?

Binary options are a simple way to trade price fluctuations in multiple global markets and Binary options are different from traditional options. These options have different payouts, fees and risks, and an entirely different liquidity structure and investment process

The most common binary option is a "high-low" option and is also called a fixed-return option, because the option has an expiry date/time and also what is called a strike price.

Binary option

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The two main types of binary options are the cash-or-nothing binary option and the asset-or-nothing binary option. The cash-or-nothing binary option pays some fixed amount of cash if the option expires in-the-money while the asset-or-nothing pays the value of the underlying security. Thus, the options are binary in nature because there are only two possible outcomes.

When you are looking for a platform for trading binary options, you will need to consider if the platform supports which available markets, what is the minimum and maximum trading limits plus the minimum deposit amounts you can make into each respective site.

The first and most important aspect of any Binary Options trading site that you should be looking for is trust.th provider should provide quality broking and it should have a solid and reliable track record in regards to paying out when you wish to cash out any profits.

Ensure that your Binary Options trading provider that gives you a very wide range of different and varied types of Options to trade. Choosing the right broker can save you a lot of trouble and save you more money in the long run with the right support provided by your broker.

How do brokers make money from binary options

Binary options outside the U.S. are different and typically have a fixed payout and risk. These are offered by individual binary trading online brokers and not on an exchange. These online trading brokers make their money from the percentage discrepancy between what they pay out on winning trades and what they collect from losing trades keeping the costs low on the end trader.

Binary options and brokers are becoming popular and can be found in the following countries · US Binary Options Brokers \ UK Binary Options Brokers \ Australian Binary Options Brokers \ Canadian Binary Options Brokers \ Indian Binary Options Brokers.

To choose you best broker visit http://best-binary-option-brokers.com/

Trader’s million dollar mistake makes Market almost collapse

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Both Fox News and CNBC reported that a trading error involving P&G stock could have been responsible for part of a  massive dip that dragged  and shocked the Dow Jones Industrial Average within a hair’s breadth of a 1,000-point drop.

 

The Dow fell 998.5 points, slipping well under 10,000 after a sudden sell-off that saw investors desert stocks .

A trade done by mistake may have been partially to blame for a huge crash in the US markets on Thursday, reports said, as observers questioned why Proctor & Gamble’s stock tumbled precipitously.

CNBC and Business Insider reported that a trader from Citigroup was to blame, though a Citi spokesman cautioned it was too early to tell what had happened. Suspicions that an error, whether mechanical or human, had contributed to the market dive emerged shortly after the Dow leveled off, and it began to climb almost as quickly as it had fallen.