Things You Didn't Know About the Stock Market

By C.L. Sommer

The stock market is a location where businesses and individuals buy and sell shares of companies and benefit from the returns. As a shareholder, a person enjoys some amount of say over what happens in a company. This investor offers needed financial support to the company and in return benefits from the profits. The number of shareholders owning a company could range from just a few people to thousands- depending on the size and the financial requirements of the corporation. As a business grows, it requires adequate funds to reach its financial goals. When a company is in substantial growth period, it sells shares to the public to gain a stronghold in the market. Offering shares to the public has been a practice with many businesses since the early times.

Companies selling pieces of their business to the public is not a new idea. The financial markets have been a platform for buyers and sellers, where, ideally,both parties share a mutually profitable relationship. The stock market is like the financial backbone of a country- a location where shares of numerous companies are bought and sold. In the United States there are three major stock markets that play a crucial role in shaping the economy- the Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange.

Wall Street is a well known and important financial center in the United States. Here's how it got its name. During the 17th century, before New York City was what it is today, there was a high wall built to defend against British attackers. Eventually that wall was torn down but the name of the street remained as Wall Street.

Even though we view Wall Street as the financial center of the United States, history has a different story to tell. You may not know that Boston was originally the countrys financial hub. Boston dealers played an active role in buying and selling various kinds of commodities as well as trading bonds for contracts such as bridges and canals. It is difficult to think of the financial hub of America as something other than Wall Street. However history clearly points to the importance of the Boston dealers in creating an active financial market, similar to the one found in Wall Street today.

Other countries similarly transacted out their financial activities through their own financial centers. For example, the City of Paris economic activities were carried out on Rue de Quincampoix.

The story of the London market is another interesting tale in the history of finance. The stock exchange in London was initially an open market based on Exchange Alley. Jonathans Coffee House was a popular financial center where many London dealers conducted their financial activities. This Coffee House was later renamed The Stock Exchange.

Wall Street gradually picked up business through the years with varied kinds of dealers offering countless shares to the public. With time many new banks also began to operate in the market offering attractive deals such as treasury bonds. - 23223

About the Author:

C.L. Sommer is a frequent contributor to WallStreetSWAT.com, the top source for financial news, real time stock quotes, economic data and more - offering the Special Weapons and Tactics shareholders need to navigate the complicated financial markets.

Chinese Silver Yuan Coins - Chinese Silver At Its Finest

By Christina Goldman

China, with all its glory and greatness, has always been known to be one of the finest places to find rare silver coins like the Chinese Silver Yuan Coins.

The initial few silver coins were minted and circulated around the different parts of the country back in 1889 when the first coining press was imported and the strategies introduced. Since there is actual pure silver content concerned, one of the oldest ways of really measuring the worth is by weight, so if you are a heavy coin collector and have an interest in Chinese silver then this is how it is mostly done.

The first or earliest silver coins that were issued were produced in the Canton, otherwise known as the Guangdong mint in the 1890s. These were done in denominations of 5 cents, one, two, and five jiao, and one yuan. Shortly other mints were build in different regions of the country and began producing similar silver coins as well as coins made out of copper in denominations of 1-2, five, 10-20 cash.

With over twenty provincial regions manufacturing and minting silver coins, the govt. saw the need to neutralize the nation's currency and finally commenced issuing its own Chinese Silver Yuan Coins in 1903 as well as other brass and copper coins. The designs of the coins modified once in a while, particularly after the revolution, but the size and the metal content remained the same until the 1930s.

The Nationalist Government introduced on July 1949 the first silver yuan, which was initially worth 5 hundred million gold yuan. It began circulating for some months around the mainland before the civil war and stayed to be the official currency of the Republic of Taiwan till the year two thousand. As of today, Chinese Silver Yuan Coins have become a welcome boost to the collections of many coin fans all around the world. - 23223

About the Author:

You can find fabulous prices and selection on the historic Chinese Silver Yuan Coins at: http://ChineseSilverCoins.com

Different Mutual Funds Explained

By Sara Ferguson

Mutual funds come in five flavors; within these five categories are many different types of funds, so you can find a mutual fund that is tailored to your individual needs. Below is a brief description of the different funds:

Equity funds: Mutual funds that primarily include stocks of publicly traded companies. Investing in an equity mutual fund allows investors to quickly create a stock portfolio that matches all their financial objectives. However, a fund can specialize in many different types of companies, which can make selecting the right equity fund more difficult. Equity funds have a higher risk than money market or bond funds, but they also can offer the highest returns. A stock funds net asset value can rise and fall quickly over the short term, but, historically, stocks have performed better over the long term than other types of investments. Not all equity funds are the same. For example, some equity funds specialize in growth or technology stocks.

Municipal bond funds: Mutual funds that invest in local and state governments. The dividends of municipal bond funds are usually free from federal taxes.

Equity funds: Mutual funds that primarily include stocks of publicly traded companies. Investing in an equity mutual fund allows investors to quickly create a stock portfolio that matches all their financial objectives. However, a fund can specialize in many different types of companies, which can make selecting the right equity fund more difficult. Equity funds have a higher risk than money market or bond funds, but they also can offer the highest returns. A stock funds net asset value can rise and fall quickly over the short term, but, historically, stocks have performed better over the long term than other types of investments. Not all equity funds are the same. For example, some equity funds specialize in growth or technology stocks.

Bond funds: Mutual funds that usually invest in the debt instruments of corporations and governments. Investors in bond funds are primarily seeking income with some protection of principal. Frequently, the only way an average investor has access to an expensive bond is through a bond mutual fund. Usually, bond funds are conservative and target the payment of dividends. Investors can choose among several types of bond funds. Investment grade bond funds usually have less risk than funds with stocks, but they arent risk-free. These types of bond funds are usually good investment choices for short-, medium-, and long-term investors who desire low risk. Investment-grade bond funds focus on current income.

Money market funds: Mutual funds that invest in the short-term debts of corporations and the federal government. Money market funds often invest in Treasury bills, commercial paper, bankers acceptances, negotiable certificates of deposit (CDs), and short-term debts of U.S. government agencies such as Ginnie Mae (www.ginniemae.gov). Money market funds provide less return and less risk than other types of mutual funds and are good investments for short-term investors. The principal advantage of these funds is their safety. Also, if you ever need to get to your money fast, money market funds may be the type of fund for you.

As always, read the details of an investment before making a commitment. Each investment is different and the risks will be different as well. Beginning investors often make the mistake of not finding out all the details before proceeding; do not just look at the profit you could make from the investment. - 23223

About the Author:

How to Invest Today is a news and educational site dedicated to investing in today's world. How to Invest Today offers the latest news and tips on investing.

5 Forex Trading Tips To Keep You On The Go

By Bart Icles

If you are planning to try your luck in forex trading, you need guts, basic forex knowledge, and proven forex trading tips to help you get through successfully. Once you have developed a great combination of these factors, you will be fortunate enough to end up with a steady flow of income aside from the normal job that you have. Forex trading can be a very lucrative area of interest if you take the time and the effort to learn the tricks of the trade.

It is very important to devote your time in researching about all the facets of forex trading. Researching about forex trading will make you familiar with the different terms or jargons being uses in the forex market so as not to make you an ignorant trader. It will also give you an idea just how big a financial market the forex market is. Ever since the forex market was born and people and corporations started putting high stakes in it, its growth has been regarded as one of the most phenomenal. And to be able to learn the workarounds of the forex markets, equipping yourself with a handful of tried and tested forex trading tips will prove to be invaluable at all times.

Here are some forex trading tips to keep up your sleeve at all times:

1. Before you take the leap and deal with actual money, you should start with a dummy account first. This is very helpful for anybody since it will help equip you with forex trading strategies that you can use come the time that you decide that you are ready for the real thing. Not only will practicing this make you not lose a lot when doing real forex trading, it can also help you win at all times as soon as you are able to develop a workable forex trading strategy of your own.

2. Make sure that when you are dealing with the real forex trading thing, you do not get overwhelmed and become too gutsy. You will lose your hard-earned money, big time. You should keep in mind that forex trading is not your usual game of blackjack or poker wherein at times, out of frustration, you gamble all your money, falsely thinking that it will be doubled. You will end up losing everything eventually this way. Self-control is of utmost importance.

3. Once you have a forex trading strategy developed, you should stick to it. 4. Learn how to interpret forex signals so that you can make the right calls. Only constant exposure and the right mentor can help you in this area.

5. During real forex trading, you should make sure that you log all your transactions so that you will be able to gauge real time whether you are losing or making money.

Forex trading can be something that you can live by. To make it work, you should not let it all get to your head. Stick to your plan and you will end up with the right calls most of the time. Have those forex trading tips up your sleeve all the time. - 23223

About the Author:

A forex system is powerful when coupled with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning a forex currency trading system takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Should You Have Your Forex Tutorial Online?

By Bart Icles

A forex tutorial is definitely the first thing that you need to avail of if you want to start a career in forex trading. This is because a forex tutorial is the best source of knowledge about the intricacies or complexities of the forex market which you need to know to be able to do forex trading correctly. A good forex tutorial will serve as a foundation for an aspiring forex trader since it will arm him or her with the basic skills and the basic strategies and the different ways of implementing them to achieve optimum effects. It will also enable a budding forex trader to know how to interpret forex signals and to use them to their advantage in the process.

During the advent of the forex market, a forex tutorial is not a very common thing, probably because media for information dissemination is not as high tech as it is today. It was almost impossible to look for a decent forex tutorial since most of things you need to know in forex trading are usually just discussed thoroughly in banks and financial institutions only.

Today, a forex tutorial is available almost anywhere, especially since the use of the internet is no longer a want but a need. Almost all households in the United States have internet subscriptions of sorts. Gone are the era of snail mail, purely classroom learning, and conventional means of doing business. Now, almost anything can be done online, even forex tutorials!

Forex trader wannabes can equip themselves with the right forex tutorial through a variety of choices. They can solicit the services of individuals well-versed in the forex market, or opt for a group class, or just opt for - yup, you got it right - an online forex tutorial!

Choosing where and how to have your forex tutorial depends on you, of course. Doing the forex tutorial online will allow flexibility, but then, there's only you and the computer interacting all throughout the tutorial. If you have it along with a class, then you need to arrange your schedules so as to be able to accommodate your forex tutorial sessions, but it will give you the benefit of having your forex questions answered real-time with almost no room for misinterpretations since you can ask all the questions that you want answered to your heart's content.

Whether you decide to have a forex tutorial online or through the conventional method, either way, if you really make time for it and put all the things that you will be learning to heart, you will become knowledgeable in the forex trading industry and, eventually, be trading-savvy. - 23223

About the Author:

Forex blogs are a powerful tool in your forex education. Learning with forex blogspot takes dedication and a good writer and teacher. But is well worth it, once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.