Of course during the same period, if someone had invested in the top metals of the world, they would be looking at a huge profit by now as prices of metals such as gold have been on the rise and have reached an all time high in 2010. Gold in fact has been one of the best investment options of the past two years. Prices have more than doubled in that period and it continues to rise every day. It has even surpassed the estimates of most analysts and it is expected to reach new heights in 2011 as well. Many believe that until the stock markets remain to be unstable, gold will remain the number one choice for investors.

At the same time, other metals such as silver and copper have been steadily going up the ranks as well. Silver is expected to double its current prices in a few years time and analysts believe the shortage in this precious metal eventually will push prices up even further and faster. Also as demand rises for metals such as copper, those will continue to show good results for investors as well. Copper in fact is being compared to gold when it comes to its investment value. Being a high demand metal for all kinds of manufacturing units, copper is one of the safest forms of investments right now. Analysts believe you cannot go wrong with copper as you will not lose money at least given its demand. However, the potential of making huge profits is quite high.

The great part about metals is that due to commodity markets gaining ground amongst investors, it has become much simpler to invest in these metals. You do not even need physical delivery of the metals you buy and you can hold for as long as you like. For those who wish to invest in metals but cannot do so because of shortage of funds, you can always apply for loans such as car title loans or payday loans. Both these types of loans can be obtained by even those individuals who have a bad credit score and at the same time, you can get money in your hands within 24 to 48 hours at the most.

With major countries such as Spain, Greece and Ireland all facing a bleak economic future and huge job loss numbers, things are not expected to turn around anytime soon even with bailouts from the EU. Even United Kingdom has been struggling to maintain jobs and wriggle out of the real economic recession in the country. All this has obviously taken its toll on the Euro which has weakened significantly over the past year or so. Even now with the dollar showing some resistance and even signs of recovery, Euro continues to be under pressure with each passing day.

However, amongst all the economic turmoil, Canada has emerged as one of the stronger players in the world economy with less than expected effects of the economic recession and a strengthening Canadian dollar. The interesting part though is that many Canadians have seen the global economic uncertainty as an opportunity for extra income and have been indulging in forex trading for a while now. Many Canadians have created a regular and more than expected passive income for themselves by trading in currencies and taking advantage of first the weakening US dollar and at present the weakening Euro.

Forex trading has not just been confined to large institutions and trading of currency futures by financial companies. As a matter of fact many individuals and lower income groups have been able to trade in currencies as well with the help of small loans which has helped them get started in the currency markets. Loans such as payday loans can help any individual with or without a good credit history to apply for a short-term loan to indulge in any kind of trading activity. Since such loans are approved within 24 hours, individuals can trade and take advantage of weakening Euro as and when they feel there is an opportunity. Once they have made some profit from trading and have built a minimum reserve fund on their own, there is no need for further loans and a great passive income can be generated by utilizing a payday loan initially.

Index or passive investing as it is sometimes referred to, is not necessarily a new way to invest, but it does seem to be more of an effortless way to invest. The general idea of it requires investors to invest in a few (three, four or five) low-cost mutual funds or exchange-traded funds also known as EFTs. The term ‘index funds’ are referred to this way because they are funds that are intended for wide diversification, which, if all goes well, means you as the investor will earn higher returns than others who spend their days seeking hot-stocks.

This way of investing, however, is not necessarily less expensive. It still requires a financial advisor, for which you will be required to pay an annual fee on top of the management fee (usually around 2.5 per cent). Indexing is by no means a ‘get rich quick’ scheme.

The concept is that inexpensive index funds have the potential to out-earn larger money managers. Over the last five years, Standard & Poor’s have continually concluded that approximately 89 per cent of actively managed large US funds didn’t make the mark on their S&P 500 index, while in Canada, 93 per cent of the equity funds did not keep up with S&P’s index. For this reason, many would agree that the proof is in the numbers.

Many investors feel that it is a waste of money to simply pay someone else to watch and chose mutual funds and stocks for you, especially as this is something you can do yourself. Many do not believe that investment advisors can beat the markets with any more (or less) luck than you can. It’s like hiring a plumber to turn on the tap and then paying him the extra fees for the water it allows the spigot to disperse. This process can go on year after year.
Switching over to index funds as a way of investing may be a better choice for those who want to start smaller or even for those who are open to a new way of investing. It takes time, but those who do their investing this way swear by the results, and the savings.

Financial services consultant David McVay explains, “Canadians are more conservative than they were in 2007, adding that “more consumers are paying off debt, opening RRSPs and tax-free savings accounts than they were a year ago. We’re seeing a shift from stock investing into keeping more money in savings accounts because of the financial crisis,” he said.

“The banks are marketing to the uncertainty that Canadians have about their savings and retirement plans caused by the financial crisis,” McVay said. This comes as banks see many baby boomers putting their money in safer places after declining stocks had a large impact on their retirement savings. Another equivalent loss could see them possibly working for another 10 years.

The recent 20 percent increase in the banks checking and saving accounts will add up to about $100 billion in business as banks can easily make more money from consumers with savings accounts instead of customers who pile their cash into stocks and bonds.

A recent Scotiabank survey done by Harris / Decima, found that almost one-third of Canadians do not have any savings accounts even though 94 percent of those surveyed said they feel better having a saving safety net. Gillian Riley, Scotiabank senior vice-president of retail deposits, payment and lending noted, “We did have a tough period in the last few years and I think now is a great time to really focus on this and get people thinking about how they can save. Over the last year we certainly have seen some movement towards savings as a flight to safety,” Riley added.

It was also found that 55 percent of those surveyed said they do save money on a regular basis but yet, one-in-five Canadians confess they do not have any savings at all. It was also noted that the debt to income ratio has risen dramatically and is currently around the 147 percent mark. That means for every dollar a person makes, they owe $1.47. These numbers are proof that it’s important to save more than we did before the recession.

Currently, Alpha Group seems to be the biggest threat to the existing TSX. In February, the TSX’s market share of all trading in Canada decline to 71.9 per cent compared to 93.1 per cent at this time last year. Alpha, on the other hand, has seen its share increase to 21 percent from 3.3 per cent during this same period. Major Canadian banks and other large financial institutions formed alpha in 2007. They’ve been successful in obtaining a large part of the market due mostly to decreased fees.

The TSX is parented by TMX Group Inc. who essentially has three businesses. The listings business where companies who want to have access to investors pay TMX fees to have their companies listed. They also provide trading data and historical marketing activity data to clients who, in turn, pay subscriptions fees for this information. As well, they are in the trading business, where brokerages pay fees to buy and sell securities.

For now, Alpha does not have much interaction with individual consumers. However, on April 22, Alpha filed papers with the Ontario Securities Commission to become a listings exchange. If approved, this would make them a full competitor to the TMX Group who has always competed with new entrants across each of its business units. Major companies trade on the main market that is reflected in the S&P/TSX composite index, while smaller start-ups are typically listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, which TMX also owns.

Alpha is owned in part by Canaccord Capital as well as the investment branches of Canada’s six largest banks. Having multiple stock exchanges would move Canada closer to the U.S. system where as many as seven separate stock markets are available for listings. The two giant New York based traders the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange still dominate the market. Having money to invest in the stock markets is a great way to secure a future nest egg. It often does not take a lot to make a lot.