4 signs your office AC needs servicing

Mike Smith
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4 signs your office AC needs servicing

Imagine coming to the office with a broken air conditioning system in the middle of the summer. An environment that is uncomfortably hot and humid is never conducive for working and these are pretty obvious signs that your air conditioner needs servicing.

However, not all signs that your air conditioning system requires maintenance or repair will be that apparent.

In this article, we will share with you some of the most common warning signs that you need to watch out for which indicate that your unit is not in prime condition.

#1 There is restricted flow of air

If you have noticed that your air conditioning system is not generating a significant amount of cold air or that the air that comes out of the unit is not circulating properly across the office, you should definitely need to have it inspected.

This issue can be brought about by several different issues such as a blocked duct or filters. You will only be able to uncover the real reason behind the poor airflow if you get your air conditioning system checked and serviced.

#2 There is excessive moisture around your air conditioner

When you notice the presence of excessive moisture around your air conditioning unit, you might have a serious problem of leaking refrigerant. So whenever there are some leaks, wet spots, or your air conditioner is dripping, it is highly recommended to contact a reliable HVAC technician who can check your air conditioning system.

By repairing these leaks as soon as possible, you will be able to ensure that you will get it back to its optimal cooling potential and guarantee that there is no excessive energy usage.

#3 Your air conditioning system produces strange noises

While it is pretty normal for your air conditioner to produce some strange sounds, it is time to have it serviced if you hear squeaking, grinding, rattling, or popping sounds while it is running.

Most of the time, these sounds don’t indicate that there are serious issues in your unit, a trained HVAC technician needs to inspect your air conditioner to find out what is the underlying issue and what needs to be done.

#4 You notice strange smells coming out of your air conditioner

It is important to emphasise that your air conditioning unit should not produce any odour. The purpose of this appliance is to cool your space; so if there are foul odours coming out of it, particularly a smell that resembles smoke, you should turn it off immediately and have it serviced as soon as you can. The reason behind this is that there can be a danger of fire.

How a trained HVAC technician can help

Series of technician servicing the indoor air-conditioning unit. Cleaning with cloth.
Photo: ThamKC, BS

Most offices are equipped with an air conditioning system, but not every single one owns a unit that is well-maintained. Just imagine letting your car stay in your garage for over half a year. You would of course have to get it checked out before using it at full speed for several months. The same is true for your air conditioning unit.

If your electricity expenses have been increasing, especially in the summer, one of the prime suspects that you should check is your air conditioner. One of the best ways to prevent excessive energy costs and fix lower cooling capacity is by having your air conditioning unit serviced or repaired.

An effectively running air conditioner, can make your electricity bills more reasonable and help you save money while maintaining a cool and comfortable working environment even throughout the summer season.

A trained HVAC technician can fix your air conditioning Sydney area to improve the efficiency and performance. Furthermore, it can also help reduce the risk of larger and more expensive repairs.

Don’t let your system break down – service it

It is recommended to have your air conditioning unit checked, serviced, and cleaned every year in order to maintain its optimal performance. Don’t ever wait for your air conditioning system to break down-schedule a reminder to have your system checked just like your dental appointment or annual medical check-up. By doing this, you will ensure smooth operation and that it will achieve peak levels of efficiency.

By keeping your eyes open for the four obvious signs that your office air conditioner needs servicing, you will not only be able to ensure that your work environment stays cool even with the summer heat, but will also help you save money on electricity bills.

Don’t wait until your air conditioning system fails, have it checked as soon as possible if you suspect that these signs are present. Contact your local HVAC technician to see how they can help improve your office air conditioner.

Malcolm Turnbull clings to top job with 48-35 in leadership vote

Christian Woods
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Malcolm Turnbull clings to top job with 48-35 in leadership vote

Putting an end to the brief leadership crisis within the Liberal party, Malcolm Turnbull has clung to his position, leaving Peter Dutton defeated.

The sudden leadership spill has answered the threats to Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership that have bubbled over the last few weeks, particularly with regards to trying to pass his National Energy Guarantee.

In a snap leadership ballot, the Prime Minister kept his title with 48 votes to 35.

Mr Turnbull forced Mr Dutton to reveal his intentions by declaring all party leadership position vacant in the first minute of the party room meeting today.

Mr Turnbull won the ballot while Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop faced no opposition to her role.

However, the results suggest a large split within the Liberal party that could spell trouble in the future.

With the result, Mr Dutton has now quit the frontbench and thus created a big hole in the Government’s cabinet that needs to be filled.

Despite his challenge to Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership, it is rumoured that Mr Dutton has been allowed to stay working in the Home Affairs ministry

Other Liberals are predicting that other frontbenchers may also resign, which would lead to a large scale reshuffle of cabinet positions.

The Prime Minister’s risky strategy may have staved off leadership speculation for the time being, but it exposes a large split within the Liberal party that Labor can capitalise on in the next election.

To contrast, only yesterday Mr Turnbull spoke of having the “absolute support” of Mr Dutton.

Today’s vote tells us that Mr Dutton has a strong cheering section within the Liberal party room that wants him to replace Mr Turnbull as Prime Minister. It appears that Dutton is more appealing to the hard-line conservatives within the Liberal party.

The instability regarding political leadership remains a running trend in Australia, with Mr Turnbull replacing Tony Abbott in a 2015 leadership spill. That event followed the controversial replacement of Kevin Rudd with Julia Gillard back in 2010.

It will no doubt be interesting to see what becomes of the Liberal party over the coming days and weeks.

Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership is under threat from within

Christian Woods
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Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership is under threat from within

Despite securing the support of his party for his energy policy, the Prime Minister is facing intense scrutiny from within the Coalition ranks.

However, average Australians could be forgiven for not understanding where this new leadership crisis is coming from. So, what’s happening?

The PM recently announced even more changes to his National Energy Guarantee in order to prevent some Coalition MP’s, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, from voting against the policy.

This inability to quickly unite his party behind his own policies does not look very good for the leader of a sovereign nation, and people are noticing. Now it appears he is facing a leadership challenge which seems to be hinged on his lack of popularity.

With the election predicted to take place in the middle of 2019, Labor’s 38 consecutive Newspoll lead does not look good for the Coalition.

Also, results from recent by-elections indicate a large swing towards Labor candidates which, if replicated in the election, would be disastrous for the Coalition.

Given the recent undermining of his energy policy and the ongoing division between himself and the more conservative elements of his party, the Coalition may be looking for a leader who represents the right better.

Peter Dutton, the Minister for Home Affairs, has been singled out as the major leadership rival for the Prime Minister.

As a former police officer with strong views on national security and Australian cultural values, Dutton is a natural favourite for the traditional conservatives of the Liberal party.

Top 5 essential home garden tools to make your life easier

Tommy Rosenfield
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Top 5 essential home garden tools to make your life easier

Whether it’s your first time in the garden or you are a seasoned gardener, having the essential tools could make or break your experience. It could be that you’re looking to replace your old tools or add more to your collection. Having the right kind of tools can efficiently accomplish any gardening project. After all, isn’t gardening supposed to be fun?

Below are 5 must have essential home garden tools to make your life easier:

Hand pruners

They are used for cutting stems, branches, back clumps of perennials and slicing root plants before planting. They provide a clean cut and are easy to use. Make sure that they are sharp and fit in your hand. If you are uncomfortable using them, you’ll notice their effectiveness reduce thus giving you a bad experience.

Rake

Having this traditional tool in your collection is essential. It can either be a hand rake or a bow rake.

  • Hand rake

It helps you loosen up and smoothen soil. It removes pesky weeds or turns your soil. Additionally, it can be used to gently remove debris around and under plants without damaging roots.

  • Bow rake

It’s a soil manipulation tool, meaning that you can use it to level your garden and make your soil consistent for your plants. You can also use it to spread sand, gravel, mulch and remove heavy debris. If you can get a bow rake with a fiberglass handle, the better. It will last longer, making sure you can handle even more significant projects.

Protection for gardeners

Well, they might not be gardening tools but are a must for every gardener. They make you safe and your job easy.

  • Gloves

There are so many varieties of gloves and made from different materials such as rubber and leather. They protect you from sharp objects.

  • Safety glasses

You need to protect your eyes using safety glasses when mowing the lawn, trimming branches or using a line trimmer on weeds.

  • Apron

A right apron keeps the dirt off you, and you get to keep your tools close to you. Your pants don’t have enough pockets when it comes to gardening tools. It also protects you from flying debris and spills.

  • Knee pads

You might wince at the thought of kneeling in your garden as you tend to it. Kneeling on hard and uneven surfaces for hours can wreck your knees over time. Well, relax. All you need to have are exceptional knee pads, and you are good to go. They need to be thick enough to give you comfort to kneel effortlessly.

Hori hori

For those unfamiliar with the tool, hori hori is a Japanese gardening knife. It is the best hand tool ever as it is beneficial. It’s safe to say that it’s the Swiss army knife of the garden. It can dig, cut, and thanks to its sharp edge, it is an excellent weeding tool. It slices and digs weeds out thoroughly.

Furthermore, you can use a hori hori as a seed planting and transplanting tool. Also, it can be used to harvest your crops safely. There are models that have a blade with a ruler to aid you in planting seeds and bulbs at uniform depth.

For durability and comfort go for a stainless blade with a rubber handle.

Shovel

A shovel is one of the most vital gardening tools no gardener should do without.

You will need it for digging holes to the spread of mulch. It is a multi-purpose tool which allows you to dig holes to plant trees, move loose materials and also dig out irritating weeds. However, for a great experience, you need to make sure the shovel is sharp with a lightweight handle to make it easy to get a grip when digging.

Just like a bow rake, a fiberglass handle is highly recommendable as it will not splinter, rot or require maintenance. There are numerous types of garden shovels, but you can never go wrong with a round-headed shovel.

Conclusion

Of course, there are other gardening tools that can make your gardening experience more comfortable and better, we’ve just considered a few. It’s important to note that if you’re buying your tools online, it’s crucial to first check out the return policy. Lastly, store your tools correctly, you could store the short-handed tools in a garden bag and hang long-handed tools on a peg rack.

Do you have other tools that you think are a must have for a gardener? Feel free to share with us your essential garden tools!

Ideas for a perfect fun wedding

Mark Jack
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Ideas for a perfect fun wedding

Weddings are the most important day in the lives of the couple. The event is flooded with people and love. There is happiness in the air. People present at the wedding ceremony bestow showers of blessings on the couple. The atmosphere is boisterous and filled with laughter.

The couples, as well as the guests, have the time of their life at a wedding. When the people look back, the day should be filled with memories. And having fun together is the maximum extent of creating some awesome and beautiful memories that can be cherished later.

The element of fun in a wedding

A wedding is supposed to be a solemn occasion and also a serene one. But, a wedding is also a great big reunion of family and friends and is the perfect time for some fun and noise. The guests can arrange some special surprise for the couple like planning special gifts or cutting a cake. Introducing an element of fun adds to the joy of both the couple as well as the other guests, making the day memorable.

What can be done about fun?

The guests can work together or in batches to make the day a fun-filled one. Here are some ways in which the guests can make the day a memorable one.

  • Burst poppers or shower petals during the exchange of rings: This idea could be incorporated in a hassle-free manner by the guests. They can shower flowers on the guests from above so that it looks like a page out of fairy tale. Even after that, they can burst poppers and make some noise for the couple and their happily-ever-after.
  • Introduce another sub-event to the main event: Little things can bring joy to the wedding ceremony. The friends of the groom or bride can get-together and arrange for a cake cutting ceremony. This will find a place in the hearts of the couple and also in a wedding photo album. When they look back, they are sure to find awesome memories.
  • Plan a group gift: This is a good idea when the guests want to gift something memorable as well as useful. This group gift will be cherished by them and is definitely bound to find a special place in their home and hearts.

The emotional aspect of fun

Even though the fun element in a wedding involves a lot of laughter and noise, it can bring tears to the eyes of the couple too. The moments can be emotional as they signify a very close bond between the guests and the people of the day. They will be cherished forever. The fun and noise add to the joy and tears of the day.

Any attempt to make the moments special will often make the people emotional. And if it’s a wedding, it’s doubly so, because it is a very special day in the lives if the couple that cannot be lived twice. The fun and the noise can never be forgotten as it is the way of reliving the moments after the ceremony is over.

Why is it important to plan in advance?

It is important to plan the fun in advance so that the people keep their schedule free for the day and do not miss out on the fun. Also, by letting the event manager or the wedding planner know about what’s going on, one can ensure that the timing is not messed up- it does not coincide with any other important program or alter the timings of the other programs, but rather should be incorporated seamlessly in the flow of events.

It is always good to let someone from the host’s side know of the surprise element so that they can keep it in the dark by not letting anyone from their side ask too many questions.

Plan out the fun elements well in advance and have a really fun and blast during the wedding ceremony!

Malcolm Turnbull outlines further NEG changes amid party pressure

Christian Woods
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Malcolm Turnbull outlines further NEG changes amid party pressure

The Prime Minister has recently outlined more changes to his NEG scheme, prompted by growing internal disruption from within the Coalition ranks.

This comes after the PM’s office said it would not rule out taking tough action to get the National Energy Guarantee passed through Parliament.

The Government has so far already backed down on a proposal to integrate Paris emissions targets into Commonwealth legislation.

In the Facebook video, Mr Turnbull described a plan to force default power prices on providers as well as impose heavy penalties for those that did not bring their costs down.

Both of these measurers came recommended by the ACCC.

He said that “through more competition” and “other changes” that the average energy cost for Australians would go down.

He threatened that if companies failed to pass on the savings, “the ACCC will put them on notice”. He also said they would “implement the toughest penalties” to ensure Australians were getting “value for money”.

He went on to reiterate the ultimatum made by his office, saying that “we will not hesitate to use a big stick” in order to make sure power companies complied.

Federal Labor has also drafted its own energy policy that is quite similar to the Government’s, promising to cut power prices for homes and small businesses. It also said it would support a default energy cost.

Home renovation on a dime – tips for each room of the house

Alex Rynold
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Home renovation on a dime – tips for each room of the house

Whether you’re thinking about selling your home or just want an upgrade, renovating can give your property a whole new lease on life and is one of the best ways to increase a home’s value. But renovating can be costly, and it’s important not to spend more than what you can add to the home’s value.

The general rule of thumb, found by Upside, is to spend no more than 5% to 10% of the total value of the property on a renovation. And, the good news is that with a bit of penny-pinching, you can get great results for even less than that. Here’s a room-by-room guide to budget home improvement tips and ideas.

Kitchen

kitchen
Photo: Mark McCammon, Pexels

The kitchen is the heart of the home, which means it’s likely to see its fair share of wear and tear over the years. It’s also one of the biggest considerations for prospective buyers, so you want it to look its best and be functional for your own use and for when you sell it. Here’s how you can do that relatively cheaply:

  • Buy a complete kitchen – If you want to do a full overhaul, consider buying a complete kitchen, as the total cost will usually be a lot lower than buying parts separately.
  • Stick to neutral tones and classic features – As tempting as it may be to match your kitchen to the latest design trends, keeping the design simple means you won’t need to update your kitchen for a long time, and it’ll appeal to a wider range of people when you sell your home.
  • Buy second-hand – Some suppliers sell fixtures, fittings and even entire kitchens second-hand, which are usually in great condition but cost a fraction of the price of buying new.

Bathroom

bathroom
Photo: Jarmoluk, Pixabay

Although the bathroom is one of the smallest rooms in the house, it’s often one of the most expensive to renovate. In fact, a complete bathroom renovation can be between $15,000 and $50,000 depending on the room size and quality of finishes selected. Cut down on costs by considering the following:

  • Update the tapware – It’s an easy and cost-effective fix, but one that can have a huge impact on the look of your bathroom. Give your fixtures a facelift and you’ll be surprised by how much of a difference it makes.
  • Re-grout the tiles – Grouting is one of the first signs of an ageing bathroom, especially when no amount of Ajax can get it looking white and bright again. It’s cheap and relatively easy to re-grout tiles, and it can make your bathroom look good as new.
  • Don’t mess with the plumbing – If you can manage it, stick to renovations that allow you to keep your plumbing setup intact as major changes to pipes and drainage can add to the cost of your bathroom renovation significantly.

Living room & bedrooms

Modern living room
Photo: Tomaszm, BS

Despite being some of the biggest rooms of the house, the living room and bedrooms usually stay in good nick for quite a long time because they aren’t impacted by things like showering and cooking. If your living room or bedrooms are looking a little worse for wear, though, there are a few things you can do to spruce them up on a budget:

  • Get painting – A new lick of paint can do wonders to any room of the house, and this is especially the case for the living room and bedrooms where most people tend to care about aesthetics and decorative appeal.
  • Update the blinds – Blinds start to look dirty quickly and replacing them can make a big difference, especially if you’re also repainting the walls.
  • Install built-in wardrobes – If you don’t have built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms, consider making the investment to have them installed as this feature alone can add value to your home.

Garden

Landscaped Garden with Wooden Dining Table Set in the Shade of Trees
Photo: CreativeNaturePhotography, BS

It’s the first thing people see when they see a home, yet the garden is so often overlooked during the renovation process. Here are a few steps you can take to spruce it up without breaking the bank:

  • Create a path to the front door – Having a defined path out the front looks neat and inviting, and it doesn’t have to be very costly. Use river stones or pebbles spread over a weed barrier cloth as a cheaper alternative to paving or concrete.
  • Add an alfresco dining area – If you have outdoor space that’s rarely utilised, tidy up the area so that it’s presentable and buy an outdoor dining set. It’s an instant upgrade without making any major structural changes to the garden.
  • Build a DIY deck – Modular decking kits make it easy to build a deck at home inexpensively without having to be a master builder.

How to have a successful career in marketing and communication?

Cristina Silva
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How to have a successful career in marketing and communication?

The aim of marketing and communication courses is to grant a tough competitive edge to the merchandise or services of any company. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the marketplace for jobs during this standard, tightened and fast-moving trade are often one among the foremost competing of all.

The job of a merchandiser is to clarify company or services or merchandise to the general public. A merchandiser should even be capable to clarify the requirements and interests of the aimed market to the corporate. A successful merchandiser is one who by creating sales will grow the financial gain of the corporate. Advertising may be a branch of selling, however there are others.

In the past, promoting usually went on the premise of private expertise and intuition, however these days advanced diploma of marketing involves collection giant amounts of information, deciding and concluding, and combines the newest in psychological analysis too.

While thriving marketers will show differing types of characteristics, keeping this in mind, below mentioned area unit selling skills that are literally standing nowadays.

#1 Profit-driven marketing

Marketers who are able of earnings profit likely to progress in their career.  The latest survey has highlighted this problem – 78% CEO believes that marketing topline is not focused on achieving profit rise and 80% of CEOs believe that marketers are disconnected for short and long-term financial purposes. Marketers with a diploma of marketing can add their efforts to improve revenue in such an environment.

#2 Highlight important insights

If you are capable to figure out something from a marketing perspective that no one has ever been open before, it will separate you from those who can continue with the same day thinking of business.

Find a new profitable customer section, figure out a webpage that is not changing well and discover what works well, or something to expand social media affirmation by 3x.

If you can find these things and put light on them, the supervisor will look at the necessary creativity and thought the process to reach the next level.

#3 Make things more effective

The leader will look for someone who will save companies time. If you apply a new report, method, or anything to save people time, then you are instantly a strong strength.

When a business moves from inability or takes any kind of facts to always assemble, then they are wasting time in displaces when they can decide that is revolutionary. Being a marketing professional, surpass that expectation and create something new, even if it is out of your job details.

#4 Communication

Marketing is a kind of business communication because it involves communicating with the public about whatever market is being marketed. Generally, this will be the kind of writing advertising copy to create a script for TV spots or telephonic conversation.

This may consist of creating a multimedia campaign, understand the design, and have a general knowledge of being a general user and what they want. As marketing is usually a team effort, marketers should be able to communicate effectively with their team and their company.

#5 Creativity

Creative business people looking at multi colored sticky notes on glass in meeting room at creative office
Photo: Wavebreak Media, BS

Marketers should be able to think of new and amazing ideas to attract their customers and targeted demographics. The ability to think creatively is important for the design’s eye to come up with entertaining thoughts.

#6 Stress management

As we know, marketing is one of the most hectic careers because the time limits are challenging, and many things may break down just in time. In order to be a good marketer, you should be able to manage the stress without panic.

#7 Learn how to say a great story

Advance your copywriting skills to communicate your thoughts clearly, briefly and consistently as possible. Creating this imaginative stand, further, you need to appeal the customer attention with the best story.

Any marketing operation needs an emotional level so that you can connect your audience in such a way that they will not be able to resist. If you know the needs of your client, you can make a story that they will feel attractive – and they will be convinced to act.

#8 Get closer to the sales team

Diploma of marketing and communication holder have the quality to have a good relationship with the sales team. Keep a clear way of conversation with sales representatives who have a direct link to the marketing you have entered.

You can see the numbers throughout the day, but you also need some of the qualitative info that will help you to understand the fundamental problems better.

Being a marketer, make efforts to talk to some sales representatives and try to figure out some of the major issues. That clear way of communication will lead to trust and true cooperation. This will increase your career and reputation to the further stage as you are thinking like a leader

#9 Be the strongest worker

A person with a good name as a lazier will not be promoted. The current leader sees the future leaders with some qualities. The accomplished fact is that marketing is not an easy field.

There are many implications, and things always change, so stay tuned and stay ahead of everyone, you just have to get everyone out. There is no easy formula or method to deceive the system. Stand by it, and you’ll reach the next level

#10 Learn how the new technology market will change

For your success, Technology skills are necessary. You must be familiar with new online trends before so that you can offer all the accessible options for client’s commitment to providing services and data.

New easy to use applications and clienteling tools are always changing in the market and schemes: Find the best information from their IT developers instead of competing associations. Remember, the device you are using today seemed like science fiction some years ago. In another two years – or only two months – they can occur positively ancient.

Start your journey with marketing diploma courses and see these great openings accessible on our job board.

Malcolm Turnbull willing to take tough action to get NEG passed

Christian Woods
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Malcolm Turnbull willing to take tough action to get NEG passed

The Government has signalled that it is willing to take strong measures to ensure power prices fall while trying to resist naysayers within the Coalition ranks.

Some Coalition backbenchers are threatening to cross party lines and vote against the NEG, with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce criticising the Government’s proposal.

Detractors believe that the NEG won’t reduce the cost of power by a big enough margin.

Defections from within the Coalition ranks could spell death for the NEG, unless the Government is able to convince Labor to vote in favour of it.

In order to appease the potential defectors, the Prime Minister has apparently said that they will not rule out taking strong measures to reduce the average price.

A Government source said that if they needed to use “a big stick” to force down prices, then they would.

Malcolm Turnbull has insisted that he has “laser” focus on getting a reduction in power bills for household and says that the NEG will work to deliver that.

The cost of electricity is the primary concern for the NEG’s detractors many of whom have reserved their position on the matter.

The Government source said that the Prime Minister was “reaching out” to the concerned MPs and “holding constructive discussions”.

Scott Morrison, the Federal Treasurer, said that the Government was looking at a standard electricity price so as to reduce energy bills, but disclaimed that it would need to be designed carefully in order to “keep these big energy companies under control”.

He went on to say that they needed to “get the balance right on regulation” for fear of prices being driven up in response.

With a default price, consumers would be able to compare and see if they were being overcharged by their energy provider.

Profiting from a decline: how short selling works

George Papdan
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Profiting from a decline: how short selling works

Making a profit of the economy revolves around one core subject, you buy low and then you sell high. The retail business is built upon this core principle. The concept of flipping, purchasing an asset only to sell them for a higher price in a relatively short amount of time works the same way. There are numerous reality TV shows designed around people purchasing run-down properties and then renovating and flipping them for profit.

If you’ve ever been to a concert or a sports match, you are no doubt familiar with scalpers, selling inflated ticket prices to prey on late attendees. Trading in the financial market too mostly follows the same concept but as any trading courses would tell you, there is a segment of traders who work on the opposite direction, making a profit from declining asset prices in the market. These traders are what the industry refers to as short sellers.

The basics of short selling

The Big Short, the 2015 Oscar-nominated film featuring the likes of Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt, helped popularize the concept of short selling. The film, which was based on real events surrounding the 2008 global financial crisis, depicts a group of traders who saw the coming crash of the real estate market and essentially made a bet against the large US banks at the time. They eventually won and one of the characters is depicted as ending up with a profit of US$2.69 billion.

In this way, the practice of short selling is similar to the concept of contrarian investing. Both involve investors and/or traders going against the flow of the market by taking an unpopular position, essentially going against the market, but that’s where the similarities end. Contrarian investing still follows the same principle, you buy shares from a company, usually one that’s overlooked by the market, in the hopes that that company will grow or bounce back in the near future.

Short sellers on the other hand work by anticipating a correction or a crash and try to make a profit from the declining prices. It doesn’t make much sense trying to make money when prices go down but short sellers are able to do this by using borrowed assets. To better illustrate this point, let me give you a rough example.

Trader A analyzes that at this moment, company B is vastly overvalued at a price of $150 per share. Trader A borrows 100 shares of company B and immediately sells them for $15,000. Right now, Trader A has $15,000 sitting in his account and just as he predicted, shares for company B underwent a correction and is now sitting at $100 per share. Capitalizing on the moment, Trader A bought back 100 shares for $10,000 and returned those shares but with a profit of $5,000 now sitting in his account.

Why short selling can be risky

Touching stock market graph on a touch screen device.
Photo: Bloomicon, BS

At this point, it might not seem that short selling is inherently no more risky than the typical trading methods but a deeper look would reveal that that’s simply not the case. Assume for example you’d like to buy shares of a company at $10 per share. It is impossible for those prices to go lower than $0 because money does not work that way so at most, you’re looking at a loss of $10 per share if you do decide to open a position in that company.

In short selling however, there’s no limit on the money you could potentially be losing. Prices will rise as long as there’s demand from the market, which means that for short sellers the potential loss is theoretically limitless while the potential for profit is capped at 100%. One other thing worth mentioning is that it is possible for the lender to recall the shares you’ve borrowed without prior notice, automatically closing your position, no matter how will this impact you.

Is short selling legal?

In most markets it is, but short selling is usually more regulated than conventional trading. The Australian Stock Exchange for example only allows short selling on certain stocks. This is partly due to the relatively negative stigma related to the practice of short selling itself. The problem with short selling is that you are essentially profiting out of someone else’s misery. One other issue is the prevalence of ‘short and distort’, in which short sellers spread dubious rumors in order to push prices down.

Trading is indeed a zero-sum game in that for there to be winners, there has to be losers but short selling takes that idea to the extreme. In the example from The Big Short film, those traders made billions while a lot of the average Americans at the time lost their houses and their jobs. Betting that the market will go down at some point and trying to somehow make money out of that reeks of cynicism at best and ethically compromised at worst.

Closing thoughts

That being said, short selling isn’t necessarily all bad. Short sellers, like all short-term trading courses provide the marker with liquidity. Still, because of the associated short risks, brokers usually attach higher fees for traders to open a sell position. In lieu with this knowledge, only experienced traders should engage in the practice of short selling.

 

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The views expressed on this page by the author it’s their own, not those of Best in Australia, and it shouldn’t be considered as advice.

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