Kirberts finance advice and news

NEW YORK - Advanced Micro Devices Inc posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and named a new chief executive on Thursday, as the chipmaker struggled to regain market share from Intel Corp .

Ryan J Bell

Within theaters, movie posters are quickly becoming an advertising medium of the past. While they used to be effective in luring moviegoers to the theater, digital signage has made them seem dated and dull. The drawbacks of using movie posters to advertise upcoming films is that the posters are static, costly and can easily become useless when consumer tastes change (which happens quickly in the movie business). Digital signs attract attention. Once installed within a theater, they can be a cost-efficient way to market to a captive audience. Below, we’ll explore how movie theaters are using digital signage to increase their revenue, encourage customer loyalty and react quickly to consumer preferences.

Digital Signs At The Concession Stand

When moviegoers visit a theater’s concession stand, they effectively raise their hands and identify themselves as willing customers. Digital signs can be placed throughout the concession stand to advertise drinks and food items. Because these purchases are mostly impulsive, it’s a prime opportunity for theater owners to cross-sell or upsell customers. A customer can be easily encouraged to add a bag of candy when ordering a bucket of popcorn. They can be enticed into ordering large drinks for a family rather than medium-sized drinks.

Executed properly, digital signage can be used to increase the average order amount. Because most items sold at a theater’s concession stand are already highly-profitable, increasing the average order amount can have a dramatic effect on profits.

Cross-Promotion Of Movies

Consumers’ movie preferences can be fickle. They can change as a result of a star’s recent public escapades or a well-executed media blitz. Action movies may be popular one week and romantic comedies the next. This is the downfall of using static movie posters. In addition to the high cost of designing and printing the posters, their “shelf life” is unpredictable. If an upcoming movie’s star loses public support, the poster can become a drain on the theater’s available advertising real estate.

Digital signage has a key advantage in promoting current and upcoming movies while having the ability to react to the public’s fickle tastes. If a movie (or its star) falls out of favor, the signs (message boards, LCD screens, plasma TVs, etc.) can be changed quickly to market other movies.

Multiple Targeted Messages To A Captive Audience

Moviegoers are essentially a captive audience. Once they enter the theater, they don’t leave until they have watched the movie. During that time, they may wait at the concession stands, loiter in the hallway before entering the auditorium, or visit the restrooms. This provides theater owners with the opportunity to market to a targeted audience.

Marketers know that once a customer has purchased an item (in this case, a movie ticket), they become a more valuable prospect for additional products or services. Digital signs can be used to leverage this opportunity. They can promote food items sold at the concession stand, upcoming movies and other products sold at the theater.

Increasing Revenue With Digital Signage

While installing a network of digital signs throughout a movie theater requires an upfront investment, it can significantly lower the cost of marketing to moviegoers. Messages that promote movies and concession items can be displayed to an audience which has demonstrated a willingness to spend money on similar products. That can have a considerable impact on a theater’s revenue.

Digital signage also allows movie theater owners to react quickly to consumer preferences. By controlling the network of digital signs from a computer, the content that is broadcast on the signs can reflect trends and tastes in real time. While movie posters will likely always have a place in the promotion of films, theater owners are discovering that digital screens are a more effective use of their limited advertising real estate.

Four Winds Interactive is a leading provider of digital signage software networks and software.

Crystal Mate

When buying your first home, you should be prepared to ask yourself some important questions. Analyze your needs, your financial state and your future plans to ensure you make the right home buying decision.

The Dollars and Cents of Buying Your First Home

Cost is, of course, the primary consideration when buying your first home. You need to sit down and do a thorough evaluation of your financial status, factoring in any outstanding loans, your salary and job security, and your savings. Once you have done this you can come up with a pretty accurate idea of the amount of down payment you can make, if any, and the monthly payments you can afford.

When budgeting, remember those added costs that most first-time home buyers tend to overlook. You need to add property taxes, insurance, and utilities to your monthly bills, condo fees (if applicable) and any possible increases in commuting costs if you plan to move far from your workplace. Additional expenses will be tacked onto your purchase price too – land transfer taxes, title searches, home inspection costs, lawyer’s fees, and real estate agent fees.

And if your down payment is less than 20%, you will need to buy mortgage insurance.

Don’t forget the extras too. Buying your first home often means buying your first fridge, stove, washer, dryer, and even a lawnmower and barbecue!

Loft, Semi, Town, Detached?

Costs are your number one concern, but you also need to consider lifestyle. Sure that downtown loft is great, but what if you are planning a family soon? Can you see yourself and kids in a small apartment? Maybe the suburbs are cheaper, but are you willing to deal with a longer commute to work?

Many of us imagine owning a single-family, detached house, but with the price of real estate these days, you have to ask yourself how far you are willing to go to get that dream home. Maybe you can find a semi-detached or townhouse that is more conveniently located. Speaking of location, how important is proximity to shopping, schools and parks? Do you want a backyard, or is a small deck sufficient? Do you want to be in the city centre, or are outlying areas okay?

Be sure to answer these questions before looking too seriously into buying your first home. Having a clear idea of what you want and what you can afford will make your search for a home easier.

Questions On Financing Your First Home

If you are having trouble saving for a down payment, you may want to discuss your options with a mortgage professional. You may also have questions about the Home Buyer’s Plan for first-time buyers, or land transfer tax rebates that may be available when buying your first home. Maybe you are concerned about your credit rating and the impact it will have on your ability to obtain a mortgage.

Your real estate agent may be able to put you in touch with someone who can help. You can also search for a reputable mortgage broker to guide you and answer your questions.

For more information on buying your first home or first home loans contact http://www.CanadianMortgagesInc.ca

WASHINGTON - The chief executive officer of mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae , Daniel Mudd, has said on Thursday the company was unlikely to tap emergency credit measures that have been proposed for it by the United States Treasury Department.

Mark Crisp

The strategy of trading momentum stocks may not be the most popular method around, but it’s been proven effective. If you’re willing to pick stocks based on a given set of parameters and have a good sense of timing related to the markets, momentum stocks are something you should look into.

What it are momentum stocks?

Momentum investing is the most difficult to define of all the common trading strategies, but simply put, it’s based on looking for companies whose stocks have been getting stronger over the past 3 months to a year. The rule here is “buy high, sell higher.”

Why people choose momentum investing

Investing in momentum stocks is simply a proven-effective strategy. The two people credited with defining momentum investing, Narasimhan Jegadeesh and Sheridan Titman, showed this strategy yields average returns of 1% per month for the 3 to12 months following a given trigger event that signals when to buy the stock. Their first report was published in 1993 by the American Finance Association and another report that confirmed their earlier research was published in the Journal of Finance

The benefits of trading momentum stocks

The first is profitability. Statistics show trading momentum stocks is a sound and profitable strategy provided you do your research and watch your timing.

Another advantage for some is that the system doesn’t require absolute accuracy when picking stocks. Instead, momentum investors look for large reward to risk ratios. For each stock that loses a small amount, they find at least one if not several that brings in a 50% or higher profit.

Relative simplicity is another benefit of this strategy. Most trading systems require an enormous amount of self-discipline, which many people just don’t have. The system of trading momentum stocks is based completely on concrete data that’s easy to find, so your emotions won’t take you off course.

Although many people presume the turnover in this strategy would be extremely high, but in most cases it really isn’t particularly bad. Average turnover seems to be around 90% and while high, it’s still lower than with certain other strategies.

The downsides of trading momentum stocks

Momentum investors don’t buy stocks to hold. The stocks they buy are highly volatile and while the investors expect their momentum stocks to do well in the short term, they’re ready to sell as soon as the stock starts going downhill. That means if you don’t get your timing right, you won’t profit much.

Another complaint against the momentum trading is that economists can’t seem to figure out exactly how this strategy works, which makes it seem like it’s based on nothing but dumb luck. Some economists believe it works because the high returns offset the risk, while others think it’s a case of smart investors taking advantage of the mistakes of other investors, such as overreaction to hot stocks.

Trading momentum stocks is a sound strategy that, while riskier than some, can provide excellent returns for those who know how to identify momentum stock accurately and can get their timing right.

Get your Momentum Stock Trading System and sign up for my free weekly online trading system newsletter here at: http://www.stressfreetrading.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc.’s earnings growth bogged down more than investors anticipated during the second quarter, raising worries that the ailing United States economy is starting to touch the Internet search leader….

NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch & Co on Thursday reported a much larger-than-expected $4.89 billion quarterly loss because of soured holdings of mortgages and other risky debt, and unveiled plans to sell billions of dollars of assets to shore up capital.

SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft Corp. has said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 42 percent, helped by strong sales of its Office and Windows software, but the company offered a softer-than-expected outlook for the current quarter….