Pot of gold at the end of a rainbow

There's an old saying that you will find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. This may or may not be true. I guess those who love adventure can give it a shot. However, there is definitely a pot of gold - in fact many pots of gold - at the end of a financial rainbow.

Each colour of the rainbow represents an important financial principle. If you can assemble all these colours in your personal finances I am sure you too will find your pot of gold.

Red = Vitality, Energy, Activity

Business is activity, energy. Activity translates into profit. This profit increases the value of business. Equity is ownership of business and its profits. Thus owning good and profitable businesses through equity is an important component of your financial rainbow. You can do this by either buying shares directly or even through equity-based mutual funds/equity-based ULIPs.

Orange = Enthusiasm, Excitement

Money is not a serious subject. It is fun, it is exciting, it is challenging. Remember the delight on your daughter's face when you bought her the Barbie doll; or the thrilling vacation in Dubai last year; or the sense of achievement when your share became a ten-bagger. Enjoy the beautiful process of earning, investing and spending your money.

Yellow = Joy and Happiness

Marriage, childbirth, grih-pravesh, auspicious occasions, etc. are a source of great joy and happiness in any family. And gold is an integral part of such occasions in India. Hence, add a touch of yellow to your financial rainbow by investing in gold.

Green = Life, Nature, Harmony

The green colour is associated with nature and mother earth. Our home too is a part of this earth. Buying a house, therefore, adds the fourth colour and a valuable dimension to your financial portfolio.

Blue = Stability and calmness

Too much activity and too much volatility are not good for the stomach. There should also be periods of calmness and stability. Debt-based investments such as bank fixed deposits, bonds, debentures, debt mutual funds provide that very critical stability and steadiness to your financial portfolio.

Indigo = Wisdom and awareness

Needless to mention, knowledge and wisdom is the key to success in any facet of life. The same is true for your financial growth too. Without right knowledge and right aptitude you will not be able to make the right decisions and buy right financial products. 

Violet = Spiritual mastery

Finally, of course, one must pursue money with a detached mindset. Money is important; but not all-important. Family, love, friendship, health etc. have an equal (if not more) significance in one's life.

As mentioned in the beginning, there will be many pots of gold at the end of this financial rainbow - Go get them!

Sanjay Matai is a personal finance advisor ( www.wealtharchitects.in ) and author.

Navistar Remains Neutral - Analyst Blog

On Jul 3, we maintained our Neutral recommendation on Navistar International Corp. (NAV). We appreciate the company's leading position in the global truck market and steady revenue stream from government contracts. However, we are disappointed about its wider loss in fiscal 2013-second quarter and rising pressure on revenues owing to the transition to clean engine systems as per EPA regulation.

Why the Reiteration?

On Jun 10, Navistar reported a wider loss of $353 million or $4.39 per share in the second quarter (ended Apr 30, 2013) compared with $137 million or $1.99 per share (excluding special items) in the year-ago quarter. Reported loss was also significantly wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.09 per share. Lower volumes and higher pre-existing warranty adjustments, related to EPA 2010 emissions level engines, primarily dragged down the profits.

Revenues declined 22.5% year over year to $2.5 billion in the quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.9 billion. The year-over-year decrease in revenues was due to a decline in industry demand and lower market share of the company.

Following the release of the second quarter results, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 has gone down more than threefold to a loss of $7.80 per share from the previous estimate of a loss of $2.40. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 declined 30.3% to $1.54 per share.

Navistar generates a significant amount of revenues based on contract wins from the U.S. government. The U.S government contributes about 25% of the company's revenue and the contracts are on long-term basis.

In addition, the company is focusing on different joint ventures, which will help it expand globally. Further, business acquisitions will also have a favorable impact on the company.

However, Navistar has to bear the brunt of increased expenditure due to the investment in research, development and tooling costs, which will meet the Environmental Protection Agency (EP! A) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission, noise and safety standards. The company also faces significant supplier risk, owing to higher dependence on some suppliers of components.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some stocks that are performing well in the same industry where Navistar operates include Visteon Corp. (VC), Magna International Inc. (MGA) and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI). Visteon and Magna carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Johnson Controls has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Score A 24% Gain From A Stock That's Already Doubled This Year

The saying that a rising tide lifts all boats is doubly true for the economy. 

As the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy pours fuel on an already combustible economy, the stock market spirals higher and higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a high of 15,604 recently before consolidating in a tight channel near the highs. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes are flirting with new highs on a near-daily basis.

 

As the fireworks continue on Wall Street, Main Street is also reaping the rewards of low interest rates and supportive governmental policy. I have noticed local high-end restaurants packed to the gills with diners not afraid to drop a few hundred dollars for dinner and drinks for two couples. I tried to get reservations at a nearby hotspot and was told they were taking reservations for September and were completely booked during the month of August. There appears to be more discretionary capital sloshing around the economy than I have witnessed since prior to 2008.

This discretionary spending has acted to improve the bottom lines of multiple sectors in the economy. While nearly every sector is benefiting from this era of easy money, the service sector seems to be getting the most bang for the buck. 

In particular, the auto-rental segment of the service sector is posting record results. This makes sense on two fronts. 

First, as businesses improve, they will naturally rent more vehicles for their traveling sales forces and executives. 

Second, increased consumer discretionary income has found its way into the travel industry, hence the increased need for rental vehicles. 

Shares of the two largest publicly traded rental companies, Avis (Nasdaq: CAR) and Hertz (NYSE: HTZ), are up more than 100% this year as a direct result of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing supercharging an improving economy. The largest rental car company remains the privately held Enterprise Holdings. 

	Hertz's second-quarter results showed that revenue soared 22% to just over $2.7 billion. The company's vehicle fleet also grew 27%.

Hertz and Avis both have made mergers and acquisitions to retain their leadership status. Hertz received federal approval last month for its acquisition of the Dollar/Thrifty brands, and Avis bought out the struggling Zipcar franchise in March. This consolidation of the industry provides economies of scale as well as the ability to better control prices charged by avoiding fare wars.

Zipcar was struggling before its acquisition by Avis, but the idea of off-premises automatic rentals is powerful. Both Avis and Hertz are expanding their car-sharing businesses while avoiding Zipcar's initial mistakes. I can say from personal experience that renting cars is often an unnecessarily difficult process. The off-premises Zipcar model certainly makes things easier for consumers and is likely to improve the bottom line of both companies.

Both Avis and Hertz have had banner years in 2013, and both would make solid investments right now. As you likely guessed, the companies are strongly correlated, as you can see on this chart:

However, if I were forced to choose between the two, my money would be on Hertz. Here's why:

The company just posted solid second-quarter results with earnings of just over $121 million or 27 cents per share, up from 21 cents a year ago. Revenue soared 22% to just over $2.7 billion. In addition, revenue per transaction rose 1.2%, and Hertz's vehicle fleet grew 27%. However, the company conservatively reaffirmed its full-year expectations for profit of between $1.82 and $1.92 a share, disappointing analysts who had expected $1.90. 

Sounds like a solid, growing company, right? Well, the shares dropped sharply on the news from nearly $27 to $25. This dip is why I like Hertz right now. Clearly, the fundamentals do not warrant the sell-off, so the lower price is a great opportunity for investors.

Risks to Consider: The auto-rental business is closely tied to the economy. The business should continue to thrive as long as the economic picture improves.

Action to Take --> I Like Hertz right now as the pullback from the uptrend created a value buy zone on the chart. Buying here in the mid-$25 area with a nine-month target of $31 and stops at $24 makes solid sense as the economy continues to improve. In addition, Hertz's solid results indicate it is on the right track to continued profits. 

P.S. -- The car-rental industry surely already knows about the tiny company that could kill the gasoline engine -- and investors who read our latest report, "The 11 Most Shocking Investment Predictions For 2014," will, too. Our previous predictions have returned up to 310% in a year; to learn more, click here.

U.S. Stocks Drop for Week as Investors Await Fed Signals

U.S. stocks fell for the week, sending benchmark indexes lower for the third time in four weeks, as investors speculated whether the Federal Reserve will signal a reduction of stimulus efforts after its next meeting.

Financials fell the most out of 10 groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, declining 2.1 percent. American Express Co. (AXP) sank 6.5 percent after Barclays Plc lowered its rating on the credit-card issuer. Lululemon Athletica Inc. tumbled 19 percent after announcing Chief Executive Officer Christine Day will leave the company. Gannett Co., the publisher of USA Today, jumped 20 percent after agreeing to buy Belo Corp.

The S&P 500 lost 1 percent to 1,626.73 for the week. The benchmark equity gauge declined for four out of the five days, trimming its gains for the year to 14 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 177.94 points, or 1.2 percent, to 15,070.18.

"We've had a good year so far and we're now waiting for the Fed's response," David Kelly, the chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds in New York, said by telephone. His firm oversees about $400 billion in mutual funds. "People have latched onto this theme of whether the Fed will stop being easy and what that means for interest rates. I don't think that's a significant negative for the stock market and the market may be overreacting."

The Fed will hold its two-day policy meeting June 18 and 19, with Chairman Ben S. Bernanke scheduled to speak after the central bank's decision. Investors are watching for signs on whether the Federal Open Market Committee will trim its pace of $85 billion in monthly asset purchases and maintain record-low interest rates.

Japan Stimulus

Equities fell during the week as the International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for U.S. growth in 2014 to 2.7 percent from 3 percent. Stocks also slid as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he sees no need to expand monetary stimulus immediately.

U.S. economic data showed initial jobless claims declined in the previous week and sales at retailers rose in May. Consumer confidence in June eased from a six-year high and U.S. industrial production was unchanged in May, reports showed.

Stimulus from the Fed and better-than-forecast earnings have propelled the bull market in U.S. stocks into a fifth year and driven the S&P 500 (SPX) up 140 percent from a 12-year low in 2009. The gauge has fallen 2.5 percent from its record high on May 21, the day before Bernanke suggested the central bank could curtail its bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, if the economy improved in a "real and sustainable way."

'Escape Velocity'

"It's a little disconcerting that the market has to depend on the Fed for its success right now," Bruce Bittles, the chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees about $100 billion, said by phone. "Economic data hasn't caused me to believe that the economy is set on escape velocity."

Concerns over economic growth and the pace of central-bank bond buying have led to widening swings in U.S. shares. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), or VIX, rallied 13 percent to 17.15 for the week. The index, a benchmark gauge for American stock options, is down 4.8 percent this year.

The KBW Bank Index (BKX) tumbled 2.3 percent for the week, as 22 of its 24 lenders declined. Citigroup Inc., the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, sank 4.6 percent to $49.22.

American Express slipped 6.5 percent, its biggest decline in more than a year, to $72.97. Barclays lowered its rating on the biggest credit-card issuer by purchases to equal-weight from overweight, saying the stock's valuation could fall on "soft" revenue trends that could crimp earnings growth.

Cooler Weather

DuPont Co. fell 5 percent to $52.68. The country's largest chemicals producer said its per-share operating profit will drop about 10 percent in the first half from a year earlier as wetter, cooler weather hurts its agriculture and nutrition and health units.

Energy stocks tumbled 1.7 percent and technology companies erased 1.5 percent as a group. Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, lost 3.6 percent to $34.40.

Lululemon (LULU) plunged 19 percent to $66.15 after saying Day will step down once a replacement is found. Sales have tripled in the past three years and the shares had risen more than fivefold since June 27, 2008, the day before she became CEO of the Canadian yogawear retailer. Day's reputation took a hit earlier this year when the Vancouver-based company was forced to recall pants that became transparent when wearers bent over.

Gannett, Safeway

Gannett surged 20 percent to $24.99. The McLean, Virginia-based company agreed to buy Belo for about $1.5 billion. The acquisition will make Gannett the fourth-largest owner of network affiliates, almost doubling the number of TV stations to 43 from 23 and reducing its dependence on its shrinking newspaper business.

Belo jumped 21 percent to $14.01.

Safeway Inc. rose 7.3 percent to $24.36 after agreeing to sell its Canadian stores to Empire Co.'s Sobeys Inc. unit for about C$5.8 billion ($5.7 billion). The second-largest U.S. grocery-store chain will use proceeds from the sale to pay down $2 billion in debt and buy back stock.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN) rose 10 percent to $7.65. Deutsche Bank AG upgraded the stock to buy from hold, citing optimism that increasing use of the company's mobile application can boost sales.

Why You Never Learn From Your Investment Mistakes

Study successful investors, and you'll notice a common denominator: They are masters of psychology. They can't control the market, but they have complete control over the gray matter between their ears.

And lucky them. Most of us, on the other hand, are mental catastrophes. As investor Barry Ritholtz once put it:

You're a monkey. It all comes down to that. You are a slightly clever, pants-wearing primate. If you forget that you're nothing more than a monkey who has been fashioned by eons on the plains, being chased by tigers, you shouldn't invest. You have to be aware of how your own psychology affects what you do.

Take one of the most powerful theories in behavior psychology: cognitive dissonance. It's the term psychologists use for the uncomfortable feeling you get when having two conflicting thoughts at the same time. "Smoking is bad for me. I'm going to go smoke." That's cognitive dissonance.

We hate cognitive dissonance, and jump through hoops to reduce it. The easiest way to reduce it is to engage in mental gymnastics that justifies behavior we know is wrong. "I had a stressful day and I deserve a cigarette." Now you can smoke guilt-free. Problem solved.

Humans are one of the only creatures that engage in this self-deluding behavior. In their excellent book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson write:

A dog may appear contrite for having been caught peeing on the carpet, but she will not try to think up justifications for her misbehavior. Humans think; and because we think, dissonance theory demonstrated that our behavior transcends the effects of rewards and punishment and often contradicts them.

Yes, when it comes to learning from bad behavior, you are at a disadvantage to an incontinent puppy.

Cognitive dissonance is especially toxic in the emotional cesspool that is managing money. Raise your hand if this is you:

You criticize Wall Street for being a casino while checking your portfolio twice a day. You sold your stocks in 2009 because the Fed was printing money. When stocks doubled in value soon after, you blamed it on the Fed printing money. You put $1,000 on a hyped penny stock your brother convinced you is the next Facebook. After losing everything, you tell yourself you were just investing for the entertainment. You call the government irresponsible for running a deficit while simultaneously saddling yourself with an unaffordable mortgage. You buy a stock only because you think it's cheap. When you realize you were wrong, you decide to hold it because you like the company's customer service.

Almost all of us do something similar with our money. We have to believe our decisions make sense. So when faced with a situation that doesn't make sense, we fool ourselves into believing something else.

Worse, another bias -- confirmation bias -- causes us to bond with people whose self-delusions look like our own. Those who missed the rally of the last four years are more likely to listen to analysts who forecast another crash. Investors who feel burned by the Fed visit websites that share the same view. Bears listen to fellow bears; bulls listen to fellow bulls.

Before long, you've got a trifecta of failure: You make a bad decision, rationalize it by fighting cognitive dissonance, and reinforce it with confirmation bias. No wonder the average investor does so poorly.

Great investors are different. They are practically allergic to these biases.

Value investor Mohnish Pabrai has an outstanding long-term track record, but he spends an inordinate amount of time analyzing his mistakes.

In an interview last year, Pabrai told me about his response to 2008, when he (and nearly everyone else) lost a lot of money. Rather than rationalizing his poor performance by blaming Wall Street, he set out to learn from what were, after all, his investment decisions. "I clearly studied my own mistakes, and I went back systematically and documented why we lost money on these different investments," he said. Studying his mistakes eventually led to a checklist Pabrai now consults before making new investments. "The checklist significantly brought down the error rate," he said.

Most investors don't think like this. Which is why Pabrai outperforms most investors.

Billionaire Ray Dalio is similar. His hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has a policy that every employee must always speak their mind, even if it means telling a superior they're wrong.

"Successful people ask for the criticism of others and consider its merit," Dalio writes in his employee handbook. "Remember that your goal is to find the best answer, not to give the best one you have."

Most investors don't do this. They assume their opinion (or the opinion of those who agree with them) must be right, and will delude themselves into justifying a belief when shown opposing facts. Dalio doesn't put up with this behavior -- which is part of why he's a billionaire, and you and I are not.

"The brain is designed with blind spots," Tavris and Aronson write, "and one of its cleverest tricks is to confer on us the comforting delusion that we, personally, do not have any." Alas, you do. And they're preventing you from becoming a better investor. Fight them as hard as you can.

Check back every Tuesday and Friday for Morgan Housel's columns on finance and economics. 

Ford's SUVs Are Hot in Russia

Ford (NYSE: F  ) has recently upped the pace of its expansion in Russia. The first-ever Russian-made Ford Explorer rolled off a St. Petersburg assembly line last month, and now Ford is making plans to bring more of its SUVs to the world's largest country.

In this video, Fool.com contributor John Rosevear looks at the challenges and opportunities facing Ford in Russia -- and at the Blue Oval's long-term vision for the huge potential of this big market.

If you're concerned that Ford's turnaround has run its course, relax -- there's good reason to think that the Blue Oval still has big growth opportunities ahead. We've outlined those opportunities in detail, in the Fool's premium Ford research service. If you're looking for some freshly updated guidance to Ford's prospects in coming years, you've come to the right place -- click here to get started now.

The Keys to Honeywell's Earnings

On Friday, Honeywell (NYSE: HON  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Honeywell does business in everything from helicopters to brake pads, with its fingers on the pulse of the industrial heartbeat of the global economy. That leaves the company potentially vulnerable to adverse macroeconomic trends, as we've seen recently from emerging-market slowdowns in China and recessionary conditions in Europe. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Honeywell over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Honeywell

Analyst EPS Estimate	$1.14
Change From Year-Ago EPS	9.6%
Revenue Estimate	$9.44 billion
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	1.5%
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	4

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

How will Honeywell find new profits this quarter?
Analysts have gotten slightly more optimistic about Honeywell's prospects over the past few months, raising their earnings calls on the just-finished quarter by a penny per share and adding $0.02 to their earnings-per-share calls for the full 2013 year. The stock has also done reasonably well, rising about 10% since early January.

Honeywell is a much more broadly diversified company than many investors give it credit for, with its automation and control systems business earning the most revenue of its four main divisions. As part of a coalition with companies including Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR  ) , Praxair, and General Dynamics, Honeywell will participate on a $10 million contract from the Department of Energy to further clean-energy manufacturing. That contract is obviously small, but the prospects of clean-energy industry are much larger, and the project should help Honeywell gain valuable expertise in the area that it can put to more profitable use going forward.

But as Honeywell's most profitable segment, the aerospace industry still holds the most promise for the conglomerate, with strong prospects on multiple fronts. On one hand, as a supplier, Honeywell benefits from the trillions of dollars in revenue that Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) expects to see from new commercial aircraft orders in the next 20 years. Moreover, Honeywell expects strong helicopter sales throughout the world, with Latin America leading the way with a projected 34% increase in sales volume. The company has recently reaped further rewards from its presence in Latin America, as Embraer (NYSE: ERJ  ) awarded Honeywell a $2.8 billion contract to provide avionics for the next-generation E-Jet line.

To some extent, Honeywell is vulnerable to defense-related budget cuts. Yet the company has done a better job than many companies that receive defense contracts in broadening its revenue base well beyond government funding sources.

In Honeywell's report, one area to focus on is how the company's relationship with Textron's (NYSE: TXT  ) Cessna division is progressing. By diversifying beyond Boeing, Honeywell has the greatest chance to ensure its future regardless of which aircraft manufacturers perform the best.

Still, Honeywell will continue to rely on Boeing for a big chunk of its business. That raises the question of whether Boeing will live up to its potential. In our premium research report on Boeing, two of The Motley Fool's best minds on industrials have collaborated to provide investors with the key, must-know issues surrounding the aerospace giant. They'll be updating the report as key news hits, so don't miss out – simply click here now to claim your copy today.

Click here to add Honeywell to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

5 Ways Women Can Earn As Much As Men

We've all heard the frustrating statistics: Despite making tons of headway in education and the labor force, women make just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Why this wage gap exists is hotly debated. But whatever the reason, the fact remains that many women, at one time or another, may find themselves making less than their male counterparts. Though the policies and culture that create income inequality aren't likely to change overnight, that doesn't mean you have to take your lighter paycheck with a curtsy and a smile. You can maximize your earning potential with these five tips.

See Also: Jobs That Pay Women More Than Men 1) Build money-making skills.

All too often we think of graduation as the end of tests, classroom time and structured learning. Some of us even celebrate by tweeting ecstatic proclamations like "last class EVER!" (Just me?) But in reality, women (and men) need to be vigilant when it comes to building (and sharpening) their skill sets. Whether you majored in a high-paying field, such as economics, or one that has fewer high-paying jobs, such as art history, adding applicable skills and certifications to your résumé will help fatten your paycheck.

Skill-building is particularly important for women, who miss out on earnings in some of the highest-paying fields. According to PayScale.com, advanced computer skills, such as Ruby on Rails, Java and SAS, can help you boost earnings by more than 8% in fields related to data analysis or computer science. Other capabilities, such as data modeling or fluency in Spanish, can increase salaries by about 5% in social work and other fields in which the ability to communicate with a broad array of people is a boon.

Don't worry: You don't need to pony up thousands of dollars for an advanced degree or even pay for courses in order to gain these lucrative skills. There are many online coding schools, such as Code Academy, where you can learn the basics for free. See how you can use free classes to boost your career.

2) Look for a job with built-in balance.

Often, women bear the brunt of familial responsibility. That can include everything from caring for an elderly parent to being the person tasked with picking up a sick child in the middle of a school day. Unfortunately, time away from the office may hold you back at many workplaces. For example, if you need to take care of a sick relative and have to regularly duck out at 5 p.m. or take personal days, your absences may work against you when it comes to promotions or being awarded major projects.

If you decide to have a baby, maternity leave will likely have an immediate, direct impact on your finances. Although the Family Medical Leave Act requires your employer to allow you up to 12 weeks of time off, it does not require your employer to pay you. Some companies may offer paid maternity leave anyway, but many employers give you short-term disability leave instead, which typically pays about two-thirds of your regular salary. Plus, if you want to be with your newborn full-time for more than the doctor-prescribed six to eight weeks of medical leave you're allowed, you'll have to either use vacation days or opt to take unpaid leave.

"If everyone leaned out, we would have a better working environment," says Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard University who once taught famed Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. According to Goldin, if the majority of workers (both men and women) made a point of creating a more equal work-life balance, then those whose personal lives demand more time away from the office would be penalized less.

Until that happens, says Goldin, look for jobs that provide flexibility or built-in balance without limiting your growth opportunities. For instance, some physicians who work for a group practice can often share or hand off patients without fear of losing out on future opportunities. When researching a company, be sure to gather some intel on whether or not they have family-friendly policies. Publications such as Working Mother publish annual lists of the best companies for moms trying to balance career and family.

Knowing that your time away from the office won't sideline your career can give you peace of mind and allow you to keep working, even through a hectic personal schedule. A job that allows you to work from home can also provide innate balance, allowing you to juggle both personal and professional tasks in the same space.

3) Negotiate from the start…

Talking dollars and cents with a potential employer makes most people nervous. According to Salary.com, only about 41% of employees negotiate their salaries. When broken down by gender, those numbers skew even worse for women: About 46% of men say that they always negotiate, but only 30% of women say the same. About 39% of men think that negotiating is uncomfortable, but more than half of women cite hesitation about bargaining for salary.

If you overcome that fear, you can pocket much more on your very first day—and set yourself up for even greater pay in the long run. So as soon as you start thinking about accepting an offer, be prepared to negotiate your salary. A little research via PayScale, Glassdoor or Monster can help you figure out the going rate for your position, and you should point to additional skills or specific experience that might increase your worth to the company.

When I landed my first job, I didn't negotiate my salary; I just happily signed my contract. In my second job, simply bringing up the suggested salary started a conversation that led to a starting salary that was $5,000 higher than the one listed. Now that I'm older and (hopefully) wiser, I make a point of discussing my salary before agreeing to any new work prospect.

4) …and keep negotiating.

Once you've started a new job (and successfully negotiated your starting salary), that doesn't mean that you can stop talking about compensation (though many of us do, especially women). Even if you receive a standard annual bump of 2% to 3% (good for you!), you should consider asking for more—if you feel you've earned it. To help make the case for a raise during an annual review, general negotiating advice applies for both genders, of course: Keep a running list of your accomplishments, especially anything that can be measured monetarily; stay aware of what nearby companies pay for your level of work; and time your request appropriately. If your job doesn't offer you an annual review, set aside some time with your managers to discuss your contributions and compensation.

Women, though, have to approach the topic differently from men. While men may do well by being aggressive with their negotiations, many studies have shown that the same behavior is not beneficial for women. "Women have to worry much more than men about how they will be perceived when they ask for what they want," say Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, authors of Women Don't Ask, on their site of the same name. "For women who are pragmatists, asking for what they want in a more social, friendly way can be a very effective strategy for getting what they want—without turning people against them."

5) Know your options.

It pays to shop around the job market. The amount of time married women stick with an employer has been steadily increasing, according to a recent study by the American Sociological Review, but job tenure for men and single women has been on the decline. That loyalty may hurt married women financially. On-the-job raises are often capped to low-single-digit percentages. Overall, Kiplinger expects wages to rise by 4% a year by 2017. But snagging a new position at a different company may allow for a much bigger jump in pay.

Connecting with people in your field is one of the best ways to peruse your options. "Networking is really important. It helps you stay current and find out about good job opportunities," says Ariana Hegewisch, a study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. You can also learn important insider details, including other companies' compensation levels, how friendly they are to flexible scheduling, or how quickly workers can climb the corporate ladder.

How do you network? Keep in touch with friends, mentors and colleagues, and be a valuable resource for them. Not only will your benevolence do them good, it will also encourage them to help you in return. Social media can be another great way to connect with colleagues in your field who you might not be able to meet in person. Even if you would ultimately prefer to stay at your current job, learning about outside positions will give you an idea of the types of roles, and salary, you might now be qualified for. Not selling yourself short is a key to earning more over the long term, says Hegewisch. "Apply to jobs even if you're not totally sure you're qualified. If they think you can't do it, they won't hire you, but don't limit yourself."

If you do get an offer elsewhere, you might even use the opportunity to start a conversation about a raise or promotion at your current company. Just be prepared to walk if you use this tactic and your boss decides not to budge.

5 Foreign Stocks You Need to Sell This Summer

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!"

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Trade in July

Soccer fans across the country are getting ready to root for the U.S. men's national soccer team for the World Cup match this evening. What you might not realize is that, less conspicuously, investors around the world have already been chanting "U-S-A!" all year long.

Since the calendar flipped to January, the MSCI World ex-USA Index has returned a pretty tepid 3.28% gain. That's around half the performance that investors in the U.S.-centric S&P 500 have earned over that same stretch. But that's only part of the story; while overseas markets trail the U.S., lots of individual foreign stocks that trade here in the U.S. are looking downright toxic for your portfolio.

Today, we're taking a closer technical look at five of them.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

Just to be clear, the companies I'm talking about today aren't exactly junk. By that, I mean they're not next up in line at bankruptcy court. But that's frankly irrelevant; from a technical analysis standpoint, sellers are shoving around these foreign toxic stocks right now. For that reason, fundamental investors need to decide how long they're willing to take the pain if they want to hold onto these firms in the weeks and months ahead. And for investors looking to buy one of these positions, it makes sense to wait for more favorable technical conditions (and a lower share price) before piling in.

For the unfamiliar, technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's price action and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution.

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So, without further ado, let's take a look at five "toxic" foreign stocks you should be unloading.

Itau Unibanco Holding

First up is Itau Unibanco Holding (ITUB), the Brazilian banking giant. Make no mistake, ITUB has posted some strong performance so far in 2014 .Shares of the $75 billion bank are up more than 16% since the calendar flipped to the new year. But after six months of rallying, this stock is starting to show signs of a top.

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Itau Unibanco is currently forming a double top, a bearish reversal pattern that looks just like it sounds. The double top is formed by a pair of swing highs that max out at approximately the same price level. The sell signal comes when the trough that separates the two highs gets violated. For ITUB, that breakdown level is right at $13.75. If $13.65 gets taken out, it's time to be a seller.

Relative strength adds some extra evidence for downside in ITUB. The relative strength line has been trending lower since May, an indication that this stock isn't just dropping now, it's also dramatically underperforming the rest of the broad market in the process. Since relative strength is statistically a very good predictor of price action on a rolling three-to-10-month time horizon, it's a red flag worth watching closely in July.

Royal Dutch Shell

We're seeing the exact same setup in shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B). In this big integrated energy name, the breakdown level to watch is support at $82. Shell has been a solid performer for the last year, bouncing its way higher in a well-defined uptrend up to now, so while lower levels aren't a given at this point, the uptrend is definitively over if $82 gets violated.

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What makes $82 matter? Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to keep buyers and sellers in mind. Patterns such as double tops are a good way to quickly describe what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares of Shell.

That horizontal $82 level in RDS.B is the spot where there's previously been an excess of demand for shares. In other words, it's a price at which buyers have been more eager to step in and buy shares at a lower price than sellers were to sell. That's what makes a breakdown below support so significant -- the move means that sellers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess demand at the at price level. If you decide to short RDS.B on a breakdown below $82, I'd recommend keeping a protective stop just above the 50-day moving average.

Rio Tinto

UK-based mining stock Rio Tinto (RIO) is another name that's starting to look toxic right now. RIO hasn't done much in the way of performance for the last nine months -- shares are effectively flat since the end of last October. But a sideways churn is one thing, and a free-fall is quite another; RIO looks ready for the latter in the second half of 2014.

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Rio Tinto is currently forming a descending triangle pattern, a bearish setup that's formed by horizontal support to the downside (at $51 in this case), and downtrending resistance above shares. Basically, as RIO bounces between those two technically important price levels, it's getting squeezed closer to a breakdown below support at $51. When that happens, we've got our sell signal in RIO -- support at $46 looks like the next nearest price floor from there.

Momentum, measured by 14-day RSI, provides some foreshadowing for the downside in RIO. The RSI line has been sloping lower alongside the highs in RIO's share price. Look for RSI to break below 30 as an early warning sign before shares fall below $51 support.

WuXi PharmaTech

You don't have to be an expert technical trader to figure out what's going on in shares of WuXi PharmaTech (WX) -- a quick glance at the chart should tell you just about everything you need to know about this $2.4 billion Chinese pharmaceutical firm. In short, WX looks toxic right now.

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WuXi is currently bouncing its way lower in a textbook downtrending channel. The setup is formed by a pair of parallel trend lines: a resistance line above shares, and a support line below them. Those two lines on the chart provide traders with the high-probability range for WX's shares to stay within. When it comes to trend channels, up is good and down is bad. It's really as simple as that.

And as shares bounce off of trend line resistance for a sixth time in this short span, it makes sense to sell the bounce. The 50-day moving average has been a solid proxy for trend line resistance on the way down, so until that level gets taken out, expect more lows in shares of WX.

China Mobile

China Mobile (CHL) is another Chinese stock that's showing us a tradable downtrend this week. CHL's toxic price action has been much longer-term than the downtrend in WX: China's largest wireless provider has been bouncing its way under a falling resistance line since back in September. Now it makes sense to sell the next bounce lower off of that resistance line.

Waiting for that move down before clicking "sell" is a critical part of risk management for two big reasons: First, it's the spot where prices are the highest within the channel, and alternatively, it's the spot where you'll get the first indication that the downtrend is ending. Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're confirming that sellers are still in control before you unload shares of CHL.

CHL's downtrend hasn't exactly been textbook over the last year. While resistance has swatted shares lower consistently, support has been defined by three levels instead of just one. That lack of a single solid price floor is an important indication that buyers are lacking in shares of CHL right now. That means that China Mobile is likely to end the summer significantly lower than it started.

To see this week's trades in action, check out the Technical Setups for the Week portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

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At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji