Investing In Bonds | Are You An Investor Or Trader?

Some of your money should be invested in bonds, while your balance money should be invested in stocks. The younger you are, the more you should opt for stock market investing, investing more in bonds as you get older. When investing in the stock market you should invest in shares of companies with a potential for growth and a good track record.

There are different sizes and categories of stocks. There are: large, mid and small caps, and penny stocks. As a beginner, you should invest in large and mid cap companies. Once you gained enough experience, you should consider investing a small portion of your money in small caps and hot penny stocks. This is a risky kind of investing but if handled properly it can give large returns. Note that it needs expertise and nerves of steel.

You should not jump in something stock market investing; it needs a lot of time to learn the basics of stock market investing. You can start investing once you have gained some experience. It is suggested to invest small amounts of your money over a period of time rather than investing all the money at once.

Bond investing is quite easy as compared to stocks. You can get a list of high rated companies and government bonds from your banker or broker easily. Bonds will give you a good return only if you hold them for a long time period. On the other side people wanting returns in short period can look for investing in stocks and at the same time stocks can be held for long time too.

Ignore tips from others on which share to buy. This applies especially to hot penny stocks as these are considered the riskiest investments. They are to be considered only after you do thorough research on the company concerned and all other related factors. Happy investing!

Business Ideas | How To Make Money - Online Business Ideas

Here's a list of some of the easier business ideas that will help you earn money online.

Start selling on ebay. A lot of people start this way, often by selling old junk that they no longer have any use for. With so many competitors, you need a product that is either hard to find, such as out of print books, or in such high demand that you can compete with all the other sellers.Before using eBay heavily, read up on the power of headlines - these are the invitation for people to actually click on your ads. Experiment to find a good headline and you'll notice the difference in bids and traffic.

Advertise on AdWords. Get hold of help before you start unless you've got a bottomless wallet. Done right, AdWords can give you a much better return on your money than putting it in a bank. Again, headlines are all important and testing is the name of the game. Even seemingly small differences can have a big effect on your bottom line profits.

Affiliate Marketing. Promoting other people's products for money is an easy way to put your toe in the water and see whether or not you can make money in a market. If you can make money whilst the affiliate product owner is also taking a cut then it's time to think about producing your own product and making even more.

Email Marketing. This is still alive and well. Use various techniques to build up a list of prospects and feed them a mixture of information and gentle sales pitches. Get the model right - you may need to experiment to see how much marketing your chosen niche will tolerate.

There are many, many more ways to make money with your online business - keep researching until you find one that you get on with.

Investment Banker | Minority-owned Franchises Can Help Business Grow

Strzeletz, born in Poland and a 30-year resident of Germany before moving to the U.S., searches out viable markets and recruits potential business people from all walks of life who are interested in growing with his mobile advertising business, which he established in 1995.

Philip Mereday, chief executive officer of WAA, shares Strzeletz's vision. Mereday, an African-American with a combined business experience that spans over 30 years, sees franchising as a way to open doors to a multinational work force, giving easy access to government programs such as the Minority Business Development Agency and others. In the end, this greatly benefits Strzeletz's business - helping WAA turn a substantial profit and keeping the company competitive.

"The challenge for many minorities is that they don't have the resources to take advantage of government programs," said Mereday. "They don't know that you can bid for contracts with the Department of Commerce or get a grant from the Small Business Administration."

To get its franchises rolling, WAA is working on team-building - giving seminars and workshops to those interested in opening franchises.

"We're trying to build a foundation, a bulwark for business people looking for a viable investment in an already proven growth market. Maybe they're building up their portfolio or looking to strengthen their future," said Mereday, who has been an investment banker and writer and has worked overseas in the United Kingdom. "The main benefit of franchising is personal satisfaction from growth."

Success is crowning WAA's efforts. A minority business partnership in Detroit has grown from one mobile billboard advertising vehicle to six, which operate daily. A predominately Latino franchise in Miami has been working with clients ranging from Western Union to Spanish-language auction site DeRemate.com.

With more than 30 U.S. locations, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, minority-owned franchises have helped to make WAA a major player in mobile media, with Fortune 500 clients including Toshiba, Fox Sports and Einstein Bros Bagels.

Investing In Bonds | Tips On Investment Strategies During Recession

Often the investors choose some particular companies to invest and ignore the rest. In fact sometimes an investor chooses a single company to invest. This is indeed a dangerous proposition because one is risking their entire asset on a particular company. In case that particular company fails, all the invested money is lost forever. Thus a prudent market advisor would advise the investors to invest in a number of companies.

If the investment amount is big, then one can even invest in more than 20 companies. Often the investors prefer investing in bonds but are unaware how to select the bonds which are perfectly suited to his needs. In such a scenario a market analyst can help. If the investor wants his or her portfolio to get the maximum attention, then he or she can consult with the professional people in this field. Other than this, he can even diversify his investment portfolio by keeping the money in mutual funds and hedge funds.

Another major mistake that the investors do is attempting to time the market. Often the investors buy the stocks when the share prices rise and attempt to sell it the moment it goes down. This is not a correct decision as for a common man it is tough to predict the rise and fall of the stock market. Taking help of a financial advisor is the best recourse in such cases.

Another common mistake done by the investors is when they keep the money with them after making considerable profits There are even some investors who prefer to keep their money in cash rather than investing it again. This can happen when they are restrained by the investment procedure or when they do not have any idea about the market conditions. Again the financial specialists will come to your rescue. Remember the share market might be uncertain but a specialist has proper idea of the market scenario and hence he can help you make a prudent investment choice.

Finance Jobs | The Changing Shape Of Accountancy Careers In Ireland " Hrm Survey 2010

From our own experience and that of the clients and executives with whom we work, it seems these organisational changes have prompted a re-definition of the accountant's role. Not just in terms of tasks, but also in influence across the wider business.

At the same time, while executives across all functions are well aware of the challenges their organisations face, few have spent so much time staring into the byss in the way company accountants, financial controllers and professional advisors have been forced to do.

Daily as they manage scarce cash, review budgets, revise forecasts or prepare monthly reports of often poor results, there is little reprieve from the gloom. Few companies have escaped the need to make cuts in headcount and compensation and often the Finance function is perceived as the driver of these difficult decisions and those that involve curtailment of activities or expenditure.

As this survey reports, a significant number of Accountants currently feel under significant pressure and are working longer hours than in previous years. Perhaps it's because of this and a need for change, that while a vast majority of Accountants expect to still be within the profession in five years time, an equal majority expect to change their employer within the next two years.

Survey Highlights
1. Over 90% of Accountants feel they are under too much pressure at work. 84% are working long hours, with a fifth of respondents describing this as a being a constant factor of their jobs.
2. 78% of Accountants have had their workload increased in the last twelve months. Nearly 70% of respondents have taken on new non-financial responsibilities since the downturn.
3. Over 70% of Accountants expect to change jobs within the next two years. Over two thirds have recently considered a change.
4. 63% of Accountants have seen headcount reduction in their departments in the last twelve months.
5. 85% of Accountants say key stakeholders are taking more interest in the data they produce, but nearly 60% of respondents feel their organisations are not acting fast enough to it.

Summary
Whether driven by a natural professional evolution or the stark financial challenges that most organisations currently face, the role of the Accountant is certainly changing. Indeed for many, it changed some time ago, as the traditional front office/back office lines of demarcation have blurred and progressive organisations have built financial analysis into all key commercial decisions.

It is interesting to note here, that so many Accountants see developing strategic management abilities as a priority and also to see note the high number of additional functions, Accountants have been asked to undertake. It's not surprising that in challenging economic times, the role of the Accountant has become more central. The pattern suggests that while today many CEO's and MD's are from accountancy backgrounds, many more in the future will be groomed from financial career channels for senior strategic leadership roles. Highly appropriate perhaps, given the extraordinary mistakes many organisations have made in the recent past and are now working hard to recover from.

Survey Data

A total of 1,471 qualified Accountants participated in the survey across all accountancy bodies, with a wide range of post qualification experience levels and from a mixture of Practice (4.1%), Financial Services (13.6%), Commerce & Industry
(74.1%) and Public Sector organisations (8.2%).

A total of 1,471 Accountants participated in the survey with the following distribution of professional qualification:
Chartered Accountants Ireland: 36.3%
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants: 19.9%
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants: 26%
Certified Public Accountants: 11.6%
Others: 6.2%

While in general we report their responses as a total, 71.4% of respondants were male with 28.6% female. The distribution of post-qualification experience amongst respondents is as follows:

Up to two years PQE 11%
Up to four years PQE 6.2%
Up to six years PQE 9.6%
Up to eight years PQE 11%
Up to ten years PQE 15.1%
Up to fifteen years PQE 21.2%
Up to twenty years PQE 16.3%
Up to twenty five years PQE 7.5%
Thirty years or more PQE 2.1%

About Hrm.ie

Operating at all levels from middle to senior management and across 10 disciplines, HRM works with leading multinational and indigenous organisations in their search for the best executive talent to fill:

Financial Advisors | The Advantages Of Debt A Settlement

Debt settlement is also often referred to as debt negotiation. This is a process that offers great advantages for people who are in great debt. One of the most popular benefits of debt settlement is being able to trim down your balance by up to 50%. This reduction in debt is applicable to all the accounts like credit cards, unpaid utilities, medical bills, department store debt, and other unsecured debt.

Another advantage of applying for a debt settlement program is preventing the creditors from taking your salary immediately. If you have informed them that you are currently in a debt settlement process, they will not take any legal actions to force you to pay your debt. Knowing that the debtor is applied for a debt settlement program assures the creditors that they will be paid.

When you are in the process of debt negotiation, your assets cannot be taken by your creditors, thus giving you added security, while you are in the process of fixing your finances. You will also be give an average of 50% debt reduction with a more flexible payment terms which should not exceed 48 months.

Debt negotiation will also prevent your credit ratings from being ruined. This will allow you to borrow more money even though you have already gone through a financial crisis. This process is very advantageous compared to filing a bankruptcy report that will totally prevent you from borrowing money whenever you need to for emergency purposes.

For people who are living in western countries, surviving without taking out loans is very hard. We all have to deal with debt and even financial advisors take debts in order to improve their credit ratings. The problem starts when you impulsively spend all your money to buy things that you don't actually need.

If you are already in a financial crisis, debt settlement or negotiation can help you ease the burden of being under great debt. Approaching a debt settlement company might also help you fix your credits. There are a lot of ways to settle your debt and you should never be tempted to file bankruptcy because in the end, you will be person who takes the most damage.

Financial Advisor | Financial Advisor Marketing

If your a Financial Advisor and your asking this question then congratulations! It means that you actually care and are concerned about growing your practice. So many people in this and other industries don't bother to worry about their marketing plan which is probably the single biggest mistake they can make.

Marketing is everything and there are so many things that you could be doing better to be more effective.

The best thing you can do to improve your financial advisor marketing is to study and implement what's called "Direct Response Marketing". This is a form of marketing that, when implemented, requires the prospect to take some type of action towards a desired outcome determined by the advertiser.

That might have just sounded a little technical but it's actually quite simple. If I send out a marketing piece to advertise my business, rather than just tell the prospect that my product or service exists, I want to get them to take some form of action to contact me or obtain something that I am giving away for free.

I don't have time in this article to go in-depth on all the tactics and principles of direct response marketing but if you are interested in learning more, I would highly suggest studying Dan Kennedy. He is at the fore front of this type of marketing and is most certainly one of the best teachers of it. Google is name and you'll find a ton of info.

One of the biggest benefits of using Direct Response Marketing in your Financial Advisor Marketing is that everything is trackable so that you can examine how effective it is. For example, if I were to send out a post card about a new service my firm was offering, I would setup a new 1-800 number that is only listed on that particular advertising piece. Another example would be if I were sending them to a website, I would create a new and unique page and list the url only on that mailing.
This allows me to see exactly how many people respond to the advertisement.

From there you can track sales, sign ups or whatever it is you consider to be a successful conversion.

This just touches the tip on what's possible when you use direct response marketing.

Financial Advisors | Tips For Selection Of Private Asset Management

Tips for selection of Private Asset Management / Wealth Management Company: Why choose a private asset management / asset management firmUsing on private property management company services can help you preserve your wealth is better than making investment decisions on its own as a separate asset management professionals have extensive banking and investment experience. private property management company can help you save money on taxes, property reports, real estate planning and asset protection. Investment Management Services can help you choose the best investment. that will give you the highest returns with low risk.

What you need from your individual property management company One of the first things you need to do is make sure that you need a private property management company services. If you want to control every financial decision that affects you, it might be better idea to find a reliable brokerage firm, to help you create an investment. There are even online brokerage service, which allows complete control over their investment decisions. Asset management company may be a good idea to help with other services such as estate planning or asset accounts and general asset management, not investment management services.

Do you need a private property management company or financial adviser before signing with the property management company to take the time to research your options and make sure that the separate asset management company is better than a private bank or a financial advisor to the larger bank. Large banks may have more resources to help you manage your assets, such as well-trained financial analysts on staff or the most advanced trading tools. But the big problem is the banks that they will work with your agenda and may be biased toward its investment and banking services.

What is a private asset management company power you need to know the people who will manage their assets and investments, and some members of the company's research before you sign up for individual asset management company. Check the credentials, qualifications and experience of its financial advisors. Make sure that all partners in the firm are qualified CPA or CFAs, because you want your property management team is the best. Find out what financial institutions with whom they work, and make sure that they will manage their assets as you see fit. You should also check the banks they work with to make sure that your investment will be protected.

What type of investment management professionals should use? The right to an asset management company or investment management service will be trained professionals on their staff. Looking for training private wealth management professionals, there are three powers of search: Certified Financial Planner, Certified Investment Management Analyst or Chartered Financial Analyst. Each of these certificates can only be earned by rigorous coursework and exams, and only a professional financial advisors will have the following names. Certified Financial Planning can help you develop your overall financial plan assets, and assist you with investment management services.

Certified Investment Management is specially trained to manage money through investment. and has extensive knowledge of the investment brokerage, using options and futures, insurance and money management. Chartered Financial Analyst are often referred to as the investment manager or portfolio manager, and they have earned their CFA throug h the number of investment experience and rigorous exams.

Will there be an investment management service fees? Third, prior to the signing of the private asset management company, make sure you read the fine print. Hidden charges are often prey on many contracts and can sneak up on unsuspecting customers. Many companies also charge a fee to enter mutual funds, and fees may seem small. However, unscrupulous investment management services to offer that you change funds often, and as a result, you pay low fees on several occasions.

Finance Jobs | Search Jobs In Chennai India

Jobs in Chennai are available in almost every field. There are suitable marketing jobs, finance jobs, sales jobs, and almost all types of jobs to make the people work in their respective field.

Candidates can easily find jobs in India through the job consultants available on internet. These job consultants have contracts with different Companies all over India and the best part is that different job consultants have contacts with different Companies so a particular user can log on to the different consultants at the same tome to get enough options at one time.

Internet users can make a mail ID to get the responses from the job consultants. You should fill the choice of location as Chennai to get jobs in Chennai exclusively. Almost all internet users are connecting to online job consultants to find jobs in India. This is so because this method is convenient and job sites online give different options matching to the profile. So the candidate can choose the right job and the right location from amongst the various options.

There are many big companies located in Chennai and all of them need a proper staff for the efficient working of the organization. These Companies are able to make the right decision regarding heir requirement and then send these requirement to the job consultants. This is easy and quite less cumbersome because these Companies get those people who are really interested for the job.

Many Companies also find it easy to look for the suitable candidate through online job consultants. There is a perfect coordination between the companies, online job consultants and the candidate. This helps all three to find jobs in Chennai for a suitable person. One of the major advantages of online job sites is that people can look for jobs in Chennai from any part of the world and can respond in whatever way the company wants within the specified time period.

Best Investments | Appealing To Commercial Property Buyers

The Most Appealing Properties to Buyers
First of all, it's important that investors understand which properties are most appealing to buyers. Usually the commercial real estate properties that look the best are the ones that tend to have the least risk of being over supplied. They'll be the most appealing to the buyers out there as well. One of the most appealing types of properties and the best investments are the office properties that are located in central business districts. These are hard to come by. They make great investments, since so many buyers are looking for this type of property. Also, other types of properties that are appealing and great for easily selling include retail regional malls, retail neighborhood centers, industrial warehouses, suburban offices, apartments, and local retail centers. These are all great investments for investors, since buyers are actively looking for these properties and find them very attractive.

Realistic Prices Attract Buyers
When you are interested in selling your commercial real estate properties, you also need to remember that realistic prices also attract buyers. Today the real estate marketing is returning to traditional financing sources as well as traditional investors, and this has brought more realistic prices for commercial buildings. This is very attractive to buyers today who are looking for the right prices on commercial property. So, when you're investing, be sure to go with properties that you can sell to buyers for reasonable prices and you'll be more likely to sell your property quickly.

Second Tier Cities are Hot
Today you will find that it is the second tier cities that are hot when you are investing in commercial real estate that you plan on selling quickly. In the past few years, there are many big markets in large cities that have out priced themselves; however, today many buyers are beginning to turn to the second tier cities for their commercial real estate needs. In fact, it is some of the second tier cities that are really pulling in the real estate transactions today. So, if you are looking for real estate to invest in that you'll have no problem selling, consider investing in the Tier II cities where prices are better and the markets are currently hot.

Smaller Markets
It is currently the small markets that are getting the most attention from investors in the commercial real estate industry today. Small markets are having populations that are growing rapidly and many of them have seen job growth in recent years. While the prices per square foot are actually a bit lower, they are still great places to invest, since these types of properties are selling very well. So, if you want to appeal to buyers today, you may want to look towards the smaller makers to make sure that selling your property is as easy as possible.

As you can see, there are many different things to consider when you want to make sure that you invest in commercial real estate that is appealing to buyers and that will make selling easy. So, when you are investing in real estate for commercial use, always make sure that you consider the buyers and what they want to make sure that you make the profits that you want.

Hedge Funds | Foreign Exchange On The World Financial Stage

Foreign exchange trading is always happening, and its reach spans the globe. For example, as the currency markets open at the beginning of the day on European continent, the Forex markets in Asia to the east are closing for the trading day. After Europe completes its trading day, the countries in the north, central and southern Americas are opening for their turn at the Forex market. The markets in Japan, China, Australia, including all the regional markets in that part of the world, will be soon awake to a new trading day as the Americas close theirs. This cycle of trading activity continues in sequence around the world, creating an active market.

Who engages in Forex trading?

The major players in foreign exchange markets are banks, large commercial enterprises, national central banks, hedge funds, investment management firms, retail traders, and individual investors. National central banks and hedge funds are the two most influential participants in the foreign currency market. Central banks trade on the market for a variety of reasons. Two examples are to stabilize their own currencies, or to synchronize their interest rates with other national interest rates. Central banks also trade on the foreign currency market to manipulate their currency in order to manage economic influences like inflation, and to control the supply of money.

Hedge funds represent the more speculative end of the foreign exchange trading spectrum. The trading done by hedge funds in the international currency exchanges often takes advantage of the environment where regulation is scarce. Hedge funds can control significant blocks of a nation's securities, and can actually undermine the attempts of national central banks to stabilize a currency if recent market and world events make such adjustments necessary.

Financial Advisor | The Importance Of A Financial Advisor

A financial analyst and a personal financial advisor help to provide both an analysis and also guidance to businesses and individuals who seek help with their financial decisions. Each type of financial specialist gathers financial information, analyzes it, and makes a recommendation to his/her client. However, they do differ when it comes to the type of investment information that they can provide, and also the clients that they work for.

A financial analyst assesses the economic performance of companies and industries, as well and for firms and institutions that have money to invest. A personal financial advisor assesses the financial needs of people, able to offer them a wide range of options.

Also called securities analysts and investment analysts, a financial analyst works for banks, insurance companies, mutual and pension funds, securities firms, and also other businesses. He or she helps these companies and/or their clients make important investment decisions. A financial analyst read a company's financial statements and also analyzes commodity prices, sales, costs, expenses, and also tax rates in order to determine the company's value, as well as to project its future earnings.

The financial analyst meets with company officials in order to gain a better insight into the firm's prospects and also to determine its managerial effectiveness. They also usually study an entire industry, assessing its current trends in business practices, products, and industry competition in order to keep abreast of new regulations and policies that may affect the industry. Monitoring the economy to determine its effect on earnings is also a duty.

A personal financial advisor, also known as a financial planner or a financial consultant, uses his/her knowledge of investments, tax laws, and also insurance in order to recommend financial options to individuals that fit with the client's short-term and long-term goals. Financial planners deal with such issues as retirement and estate planning, funding for college, and also general investment options. Some financial advisors are able to advice on a wide array of topics, while others are specialized in certain areas.

Working with a financial advisor begins with a consultation, where he/she is able to obtain information on the client's finances and financial goals A comprehensive financial plan is then developed that identifies problem areas, offers recommendations for improvement, and also selects appropriate investments that are compatible with what the client wants.

Clients usually meet with their financial advisor at least once a year to update them on potential investments, as well as determine if any changes have been made.

In addition, some advisors buy and sell financial products, including mutual funds or insurance, or are able to refer their clients to establishments who do.

Perhaps a financial advisor's most important job is building a customer base, since referrals from satisfied clients help to generate new business. Other than being contacted by the client, financial advisors contact potential clients by offering seminars or lectures, or even meeting them through business and social contact.

Mutual Funds | Alternative Mutual Funds-things To Consider

You will need to be well educated in choosing alternative mutual funds and understanding volatility and its correlation to your portfolio. However, if you don't know how to do this then you can hire a manager who is an expert and capable of helping you. The goal is to create a portfolio of alternative mutual funds that is capable of outperforming the stock market long term. Make sure you find an adviser who is willing to help you create the right correlation of volatility among your portfolio so you have a better chance of making money long term than you would with bonds or other low risk investments.

One consideration would be to invest in foreign currencies .You will have volatility that does not correlate to the other funds in your portfolio and have the potential for great returns. Any time you anticipate the dollar declining it is a good idea to invest in foreign currencies.

When investing in alternative mutual funds you always want to find a competitive advantage. What this means is that you need to find the funds that have something a little different than all of the rest of the funds that make it better. It could be a special strategy for investing or hedging perhaps is great talent among the investors, or simply a long history of performing better than the rest of the market.

Many investors only want to invest in alternative mutual funds once it has proven itself and has a long history. However, many of the best alternative mutual funds will close to new investors before it has this type of history. As a result, it makes sense to invest in a new fund from a successful company if they will be using a strategy that has been successful in the past.

Best Investments | Is Foreign Exchange Trading The Best Investment Out There?

To say that one financial instrument is the best investment over the rest is as much a risky business as investing itself. For one investor, stocks may be the best investment there is. Another investor might only stick to property investments as his ideal. For yet another investor, forex may be the holy grail of investing. This is only to illustrate that when it comes to financial investing, the most applicable maxim would be to each his own.

But from the point of view of an outsider, no single investment program can ever claim to be the best. There are several reasons for this and we will attempt to enumerate them in the following part.

All investments carry risks. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, properties, forex - you name them and they have it. Any form of capital investment includes the risk of loss. Investing is always a gamble; you hope to gain based on what most other investors would consider sound financial parameters.

Some investment advisors would say that certain investment instruments carry more risks than others. That is however only one side of the coin. The other side points to an individual investors risk tolerance or the level of one's acceptance for the possibility of financial loss. Therefore, while all investments do have risks, people's risk tolerance vary such that for some low risk investments are their cup of tea but others would consider high risk programs as the best investments.

Taking forex again as an example, the foreign exchange market is highly volatile which accounts for many novice investors' failure in it. Still, investors who can stomach such losses and are financially able to continue to play the currency trading game will at some point find success. The same analogy should hold true for other form of investments.

Flexibility of FX investments. With investments, flexibility may refer to a number of different things not all of which are related to each other. Flexibility in capital requirement is one; having flexibility in terms of liquidity is another. Forex investments are said to have both. But not only that - FX trading is also flexible insofar as trading hours is concerned due to the global scope of the FX market.

Now these things may seem to be advantages for FX investments, however there are also cons opposite these pros. Flexibility may also be perceived as inconsistency of the market to produce wanted results, which again points to the high volatility of the FX market.

In conclusion, forex is just like any other investment with its particular downsides and upsides. Claiming that it is the best investment is purely a subjective opinion and should not be the basis for making a decision to dive into FX investments.

Investment Banker | Stock Investing " Bank Of America, Morgan Stanley, Ubs, And Bear ...

In order to restore financial confidence in the American economic system after the massive impact of the Depression hit the country in the late 1920's, the newly elected President Roosevelt mandated the creation of the Securities Exchange Commission, part of the Commission's duties were now to reign in, and put an end to insider trading. Who did FDR appoint as the first SEC Commissioner - Joseph Kennedy? Old Joe Kennedy was one of the notorious insider traders that took advantage of any and all information that came his way.

In the same league as Jesse Livermore, Jacob Fisk, and Bernard Baruch, Joe Kennedy knew where the bones were buried. He quickly moved to create a series of laws, rules, and regulations that would outlaw the very practices that in past decades had enabled him, Kennedy to become one of the four wealthiest individuals in America. The practice of lawful insider trading had come to an end legally. To show you how effective these policies have been, whenever a real case of such trading comes to public light, it makes nationwide headlines. This is because of the relative rarity of such scandalous behavior being brought to public light.

During the 1980's, the biggest insider trading scandal which became public knowledge was Ivan Boesky, probably the premiere arbitrage player of his generation when he was accused of insider trading. Boesky was caught via tape recordings taking advantage of such information. His primary source was Dennis Levine, an affable investment banker working for Drexel Burnham Lambert; a now defunct banking firm whose primary asset was Michael Milken's junk bond capital raising unit.

The Latest Scandal

It looks like this current scandal followed two separate tracks occurring simultaneously. The profits generated amounted to $15 million dollars over a period of five years. Insiders were used at Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities. These individuals including Mitchel Guttenberg, who as an institutional client manager at UBS would be aware of research upgrades and downgrades taking place on a daily basis. He was given hundreds of thousands of dollars for his knowledge of non-public information. The men purchasing the information were David Tavdy, and Erik Franklin. Using the non-public information available to them, they were each able to amass $4 million in trading profits.

In a separate scheme running a parallel track, Randi Collotta a lawyer, was an employee of Morgan Stanley in their compliance department. Her husband Christopher Collotta was an attorney in private practice. Randi would come up with information on mergers and acquisitions that Morgan Stanley was involved with, and pass the tips to her husband Christopher. The husband would then sell the information on Wall Street for money that amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

During the course of the schemes, information was sold to Erick Franklin who was a Bear Stearns Hedge Fund client. People like Franklin are use to doing 50 to 100 different trades per day, each day. Such individuals are able to bury their results in the sheer mass of trading that is done on a daily basis.

Although caught, the conspirators were sophisticated enough to use facilities outside the immediate firms that they each worked for. Meetings were held in the famous Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. Disposable cell phones were utilized. Secret Codes were invented. Text messages on cell phones were employed. E-mail was OUT. Telephone calls with HOT TIPS were OUT. Nobody exchanged checks. CASH was the rule of the day, every day.

As of today, 13 people have been arrested with 11 of them facing SEC charges. Three Hedge funds have been charged with criminal behavior. Four of the 13 arrested have already pleaded guilty. The hedge funds are tough group to supervise because they don't have the degree of compliance that is present in a brokerage firm. They are also probably much harder to detect as to insider trading involvement. It will not be a surprise if many more people are arrested and charged, than the group currently mentioned.

The demand for performance among hedge funds where a tenth of a percentage point in performance can mean the difference of millions of dollars of additional compensation is already well known. Depending upon performance, hedge funds live and die by performance. There are 9000 basically unregulated hedge funds in operation today, managing $1.4 trillion dollars, plus 6 to 1 leverage. About a thousand of these same hedge funds go out of business every year, with a 1000 new start-ups coming on stream.

It is not beyond the realm of possibility, to see how a person under water with any kind of questionable character can succumb to the allure of insider trading if in fact; such trading will dramatically alter the performance of the fund he or she is managing. It is becoming apparent that hedge fund trading is unsupervised. This case is not going to be the last case involving insider trading.

Hedge funds are also becoming more heavily involved in the financing of Presidential elections in an attempt to curry favor with Presidential candidates. To what extent will the amount of money floating around among hedge funds lead to a lack of supervisory action by elected officials caught in ethical conflicts.

In this, the latest insider trading scandals, the government was able to pick up irregular profitable trading patterns in the merger and acquisition of two publicly traded companies. They were Adobe Systems, and its acquisition of Macromedia in 2005, and ProLogis, and its acquisition of Catellus Development.

Once the SEC saw the irregular trading, it was only a question of time and effort before the patterns revealed a conspiracy, and the conspiracy revealed insider trading. Now it's up to the court system to figure out the rest, but first, expect more arrests.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Richard Stoyeck

Business Ideas | Best Home Business Ideas - Brewing A Pot Of Business Ideas, Want A ...

The scams are hard to spot because the scammers model them after legitimate business models and ideas, and tend to make them look good. These ideas often get bad images because of the way they have negative light cast on them because of a scammer.

How Do I Tell The Difference Between A Legitimate Home Business Idea, and a Scam?

There are no "tell tale" signs that flash like a neon sign to tell you that something is a scam versus being legitimate and honest. What you need to do is utilize the tools at your disposal and do a little digging. Use the internet and look up every last piece of information on the person, and the business or site they are promoting. Chances are there is feedback of some type and you will be able to read how other people have been treated. If there is a lack of feedback, see what kind of systems they have in place to ensure your safety. See if they are requiring up front money before they do anything, or if they are going to help you out for a commission.

Just because something asks for money, is not a tell tale sign something is dishonest, but if they demand larger amounts of money, and it just seems shady. Like asking for money and not telling you what you are getting in return, or asking for money and offering 6 figure salary returns on your small investment. Things like this should set off a few bells in your head, and if they do then ask questions! If a business or person what's you to become a member or customer, they will happily answer your questions. Another thing to look for is the communication, if they will not answer questions before you pay them, well you need to look elsewhere. Any legitimate and reliable business will happily answer the customers of potential customers. The worst mistake you can make is if just thinking you are being over cautious and not asking the questions that you have. Always make sure you are comfortable with something, do not let other people force you into something you do not like!

Hedge Funds | Stock Research " Another Hedge Fund Warns- Basis Capital " This Is ...

An example is now the latest announcements coming out of Basis Capital. Apparently this hedge fund was invested in the US home loans to investors are less than creditworthy. The hedge fund claims that the collateral in their portfolio is sound, but sound is a matter of judgment. Unfortunately for Basis Capital, the prime broker clearing for the hedge fund doesn't agree with them. The prime broker has re-priced this so-called sound collateral.

What does it mean?

The hedge fund now has to go into a crisis mode to survive. Immediately many investors will ask for their money back. This is the step that kills off the hedge fund. In order to prevent a run on the bank, as they like to say, the hedge fund has announced that they may restrict redemptions, which is the right of the investor to withdraw their money at, will. If investors are allowed to withdraw their funds, the collateral securing the underlying investments usually collapses because other smart money knows that that collateral has to be sold in order to fund the redemptions.

Prior to originating a hedge fund, most hedge funds will install restrictive covenants in their investor agreement that build in what are called gates. These gates limit by quarter what can be withdrawn from the fund. It's about self-preservation. In this case Basis Capital and its two hedge funds require 90 days notice before capital can be withdrawn. Once again this policy attempts to prevent a forced liquidation of the underlying collateral securing the hedge funds' investments.

Basis Capital has warned that the true extent of their problems might not become evident until September. What does that mean? These people mark to market every day. They have the finest computer pricing systems in the world. PhD's in mathematical modeling are a dime a dozen in the hedge fund industry, and yet this hedge fund doesn't know where it stands financially. This is a breakdown in the system, and it has great meaning to the rest of the hedge fund industry.

What happened to Basis Capital is very simple. In the range of assumptions they used to make their bets they determined normal risk parameters. They did not give any consideration to the possibility that the investments they were making might, just might move outside their normal variability ranges. In other words they excluded worst-case possibilities from their consideration. The melt down of the sub prime lending market is such a possibility and it has HAPPENED. For an elaboration of this article, please see our website.

Financial Advisor | Pension Advisor Leeds, Ifa Leeds

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Investment Banking | Banking Jobs - How To Succeed In Banking

Some Job Profiles

Having said that, I must tell you that investment banking is not the only banking job around, there are different types of banking jobs, but it is not surprising that about 67% if the total banking jobs are those of a bank teller's. Some important job positions in a bank are:

Bank Manager - The man who runs the show. You need to supervise the daily operations of the bank and find out whether bank employees are doing their work as planned.
Accountants - If you are good with accounts and are qualified, you can become an accountant with a bank. This job is an important one because the work done by an accountant or rather, a team of accountants is presented before investors, tax authorities etc. and determines the financial standing of the bank.

Financial advisors- As a financial advisor, you will be making recommendations and suggestions to people who are clients. This is a very important job and also one which holds great responsibility.

Banking Job Tips

Banking careers are undoubtedly one of the most promising fields, but in order to succeed, you should keep a few things in mind:

Research - Be aware of all the latest goings on in the business world. If you don't know about the latest happenings, then you won't be able to raise money for your bank or clients. After all, it is your responsibility to ensure that people are making a wise investment. It can't be taken lightly, now can it?

Networking - Banking careers, almost like every other field have become synonymous with networking. One can't get anywhere until they establish all the right contacts. So get to know people. Attend gatherings, parties to-dos etc. Anything that will get you in front of people from your field!

Fees - As an investment banker, you need to do some research before you quote your fee. Try to ensure that you get back a good amount, as compared to what you invested in the first place.

Dedication - Everyone knows that you can't succeed in any field without dedication. This is especially true for banking jobs. You have to devote all of your time to the service of the bank and to clients. If you are an investment banker, you will have additional responsibility. People will want to know from you how they should spend their money, don't disappoint them!

Mortgage banking jobs are also quite interesting. So if investment banking or being a bank teller is not your thing, you can always go in for this job. There are various types of banking jobs, take your pick wisely, make sure you are equipped to handle your office!

Home Business Opportunities | Top 3 Home Business Opportunities That Actually Works!

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Still Skeptical? THINK AGAIN.

The main key to making money online is knowing how and where to start, and also knowing that there will always be assistance when you need help. These 3 e-books:

1) The Rich Jerk
2) Forex Enterprise, and
3) Affiliate Cash Vault

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The Rich Jerk's e-book is now the biggest selling e-books of its kind grossing over 6 million dollars of sales since August 2005! He says that he is going to show you some of his current and former websites that have made him millions, using the exact strategies that you will be using. He claims: to reveal the unorthodox marketing methods that brought him millions of dollars each year, that most of his techniques have never been seen, and that he is better than you because he's richer! His e-book is written in a direct and clear style to go straight to the point.

Forex Enterprise is a step by step guide that shows you how to create a profitable home business online. The e-book shows you all the secrets you need to be successful with your new online business, and you get $50 free google cash toward your adwords campaign by buying his book. His e-book is truly money making machine that anyone serious about internet business must have.

Affiliate Cash Vault is an amazing money making system that will show you how to promote other people products and collect commission checks that will be rushed to you in the mail. I highly recommend for newbie's because it is a truly excellent systems that shows you how and where to start your online business and profit from it within the same the day. Then you just set it on auto-pilot and continue cashing checks month after month.

I learned a lot myself from their information and think you really will too regardless of your experience level.

For more information check www.make-money-onlinesite.com and discover how to start your own profitable home business.

Investment Banking | Mba Salaries And Working Hours " Numbers You Must Know

According to the QS TopMBA.com International Recruiter Survey 2009, despite the recession, or perhaps because of the need to restore their reputations amongst top MBA candidates, banks in the US offered the highest total compensation to MBAs in 2009 at $130,000, ahead of Consulting - $120,000, IT - $120,000 and Energy - $118,000. All sectors, apart from Defense, Government and Transportation, offered total compensation ranging between US$100-140,000.

Salary stagnation was a major concern for candidates this year as the gap between supply and demand widened. Recruiters have the bargaining power to determine how many jobs they will post and at what level they will set MBA starting salaries. However, employers surveyed stated that they planned to maintain salaries at 2008 levels.

According to the report, Western European salaries have been relatively stable since the dot.com crash. In reality, an MBA graduate today will face similar prospects on either side of the Atlantic. Salary levels in financial services and consulting are very similar in both regions as are technology salaries and those in general industry. The recent strength of the US dollar means that average European salaries reported in US dollars have fallen this year to $87,000, but in Euro terms they have remained stable. There is a great variation in salaries across the region. The United Kingdom, France and Switzerland are paying the highest MBA salaries, all with averages of $100,000 or more, well ahead of the regional average. MBA salaries in Germany and the Netherlands have dropped back below the average for the region, though this may be explained by the fact that fewer (and a higher proportion of smaller) companies in these countries have responded to the survey this year.

Because of fluctuations in the exchange rate, MBA salaries by sector, in US dollar terms, have dropped this year. Consulting offers are averaging $92,000. Financial Services offers are averaging $89,000 (these figures exclude bonuses). The highest salaries have been offered by IT/Computer services companies, which average $95,000.

The average first year bonus guaranteed for new MBA hires across North America/Western Europe in 2009 was US$21,700 - down compared to the 2008 figure of US$26,875. This bonus, which is typically used to repay school fees, is the area of MBA compensation employers have felt most comfortable cutting during times of recession.

The average reported bonus ranges between US$0 and US$40,000 depending on the industry sector. Banks are still reporting the largest average bonus at US$37,500, only slightly down from the previous year.
The Energy sector is also offering bonuses in excess of $30,000, probably caused by their need to compete with banks and consultants to attract top talent.
The Consulting sector is offering slightly lower bonuses of $28,000 on average, compared with the previous year.

The sectors which have reduced MBA bonuses the most are: manufacturing (down from over $30,000 to $20,000) and high tech (down from over $30,000 to $22,000).
MBA bonuses have tended to be volatile in the past and it may be that if MBA demand bounces back in 2010, so will these average bonuses, says the report.
It is important for candidates to understand the fiscal status of their bonus. Maximizing after-tax bonus value should be prioritized: in some US states, bonuses are taxed at nearly 50%. In the UK, relocation expenses and tuition reimbursements can be claimed tax-free. In such cases the cost is the same for the recruiter, but the benefit far greater for the candidate.
Furthermore, an up-front starting bonus carries greater value than a year-end or performance bonus. Candidates can compare their offers with their peers to ensure they are getting a competitive offer and communicate this benchmarking to the recruiter. In at least one case, a top-tier consulting firm has increased its offer for the entire entering MBA class in order to match competitors. No MBA graduate can count on the promise of a performance bonus, making financial planning, including meeting minimum loan repayments, more difficult.

Performance bonuses, whether tied to individual, team or company performance, are a means for an employer to introduce variable compensation and to ensure they do not make financial promises they may not be able to keep the report says.
While MBA salaries is an important factor in understanding post MBA career options, it's not less to understand what working hours you will be expected to commit. Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors, a research piece published in January 2009 by Chicago Booth and HBS researchers1, shows that weekly hours are high for almost all MBA positions. Hours are highest in investment banking and consulting. The average investment banker puts in a whopping 74 hours per week, the average consultant 61 hours per week. Also reaching close to the 60 hours per week mark are those employed in venture capital and sales and trading.

Mean earnings by gender are comparable directly following MBA receipt but they soon
diverge. Women earn $115K on average at graduation and $250K nine years out; men earn
$130K on average at graduation and $400K nine years out. Median salaries by gender also diverge in favor of men with years since graduation but not by as much as do mean salaries. The median female MBA starts her career at the 34th percentile of the male distribution but after 15 years has fallen to the 19th percentile. ZoomInterviews will explain this phenomenon in one of our following posts.

Finally to complete this analysis and provide more comparable information we combined the salaries statistics by function collected by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and working hours statistics reported in the Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors report1. This data does not include year-end performance bonuses because of high variability of this item.
Despite a perception of high salaries in investment banking, in reality, hourly wages for this industry were the lowest among all MBA jobs. Investment bankers work approximately 74 hours per week and receive $34 per hour. However, higher performance bonuses in investment banking compensate for this gap. According to our calculations, in order for the hourly rate to equal that of other job functions, the minimum annual bonus would need to reach about $45,000.
The hourly rate in other MBA job functions can vary from $42 to $46, while working hours vary from 61 hours per week in consulting to 50.8 hours per week in operations.
We would advise MBA applicants to consider a range of factors including future salaries, bonuses, life work balance and general career potential in choosing their post-MBA career. However, while these considerations are important, in our view the most important factor in making your career decisions is doing what you really like. This is especially true when you know that the per hour wage, at least in your first few years after graduation, will be the same in most job functions. While salaries in various job functions may diverge in the following years, the chances that you will earn more in a job that you don't enjoy are not very high and it's highly questionable if the money is worth the sacrifices that you will make on the personal level accepting such a job.

1)Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors, January 2009, Marianne Bertrand (University of Chicago Booth School of Business, NBER, CEPR and IZA) Claudia Goldin (Harvard University and NBER) Lawrence F. Katz (Harvard University and NBER)

Hedge Funds | Is Business Acumen A Substitute For Leadership?

Take the case of hedge fund managers who have been in the news lately. Hedge funds managers are investment experts. They generally represent a small group of very wealthy people and organisations. They follow the financial markets in an endeavour to predict fluctuations and invest accordingly. First set up as far back as 1949, hedge funds principal areas of investment have been:

- Short selling stocks they think will decrease in value

- "Fair value" - using computer systems to calculate the relative value of one stock against another and then shorting the more expensive one and buying the cheaper

- Taking on a bankrupt company or merging companies where a profit can be seen

- Trading stocks by taking positions on the direction markets, currencies and commodities are likely to move

As investment funds following these strategies, they have been extremely successful. That is until recently. Their failure to manage financial risk, has seen their performances plummet. In some cases they have closed up shop altogether (e.g. Sailfish Capital Partners, a $2 billion fund closed in January).

However, even before the current financial crisis brought on by the sub-prime failures, some fund managers were having difficulty in another area. Those that moved away from their original investment strategies into taking a direct role in not only ownership but also management of organisations, ran into trouble. Is this a case of not "sticking to the knitting", or a lack of business acumen?

The recent press reports of one such fund manager, give some clues. Edward Lampert, a hedge fund maestro, masterminded the takeover and merger of Sears and Kmart in 2005. It seems that Lampert has found that actually managing an organisation is a bit different to investing in its stock.

Since gaining control of the organisation, Lampert has taken a very hands on approach to management. And that approach has been based on his own expertise (finance), not the expertise of the business - retailing. For example, the key underpinnings of his strategy have been to:

- Raise prices

- Cut capital spending

- Cut marketing budgets

To head up the new organisation, he also appointed as CEO, Aylwin Lewis. Lewis was an expert in the fast food industry, not retail. However, Lampert still maintained his hands on approach to management.

The result? Customer visits and sales are down, and so are profits. Those involved in retail, know that people want an "experience" when they shop. Sure they often want the best price. But they also want to be treated as people (customers) first, not numbers on a balance sheet. Often people buy based on their emotive response to the retail experience and then support their decision with reason and logic, such as price. Sears are not providing this. As was reported in the International Herald Tribune (Tuesday, 29th Jan 2008), "Stores ... look shabby next to those of rivals like Target and JC Penny. Dozens of products ... were sold out. Much of the commodity merchandise that was in stock was more expensive than nearby competitors. People are simply going elsewhere for their shopping experience.

The message here? People who run organisations such as active directors and CEOs, at the very least, need to be expert in the business of the business. This has been supported by two recent studies.

The first, PriceaterhouseCoopers' annual CEO survey, found that organisations are first and foremost looking for senior executives with hard technical and business experience. People skills, whilst considered relevant, were not as high on their wish list. However, one needs to be careful to read too much into this finding. For instance, are CEOs aware of the power generated by effective leadership and management or is it just getting harder to find experienced people?

The second however, is a more robust study of actual behaviour of managers within organisations. The authors tracked over 1,000 managers at all organisational levels. Carried out by Mumford, Campion and Morgeson and reported in The Leadership Quarterly (Vol 18 N0. 2, 2007), they found that in addition to cognitive and interpersonal skills, business skills and in particular strategic skills actually became more important as a manager progressed through the organisation.

Where should the balance be in management development - business or people skills?

My own observations over the last 20 years as a designer of management development initiatives, suggests that there has been a greater emphasis on people skills in training and development than pure business skills (I know my own efforts have often been in this direction). This seems particularly so at the higher levels. Is it our expectation that managers at this level know all there is to know about business, but need to be made aware of the people power they can harness through effective leadership and management?

If we are to look at some of the recent business failures, particularly in the finance industry and at the Mumford et al findings, it would appear that:

- Organisations, when appointing senior managers need to look for both technical business expertise and good leadership skills

- Designers and providers of leadership and management development need to focus equally on the development of both strategic business skills and good leadership and management skills.

How To Invest | Ten Rules On How To Invest On Success

Success in investment means diverse things to all kinds of people. O' Neil and his group of portfolio managers accomplish success perhaps the way other people can't. Having to manage someone else's money, work as a trader for somebody else is totally dissimilar from having to manage you own, or having to invest the assets of your family.

The sole aim of this commentary is to give a precise way to learn the rules of investing and getting result from you investment.

As the Bible would have its ten commandments, here are the ten most important investment rules laid out for you.

Rule One. Market Uptrend is Investment Append. This means you have the say. Just simply reading some key sections like the "Big Picture" in IBD on a day-to-day basis shall really facilitate this.

Rule Two. You should be focusing on what to buy. This recommends that you consider only those companies having unyielding earnings growth for the precedent three years, who have intensive sales income, with current quarterly earnings high above than their peers.

Rule 3. Focus now on what time to buy. You should be able to read charts, and know how to spot buy points. It also suggests that one should purchase stocks only when they are ranging 3-5% beginning on their buy point, and never buy when the price goes beyond more than 5% o their model buy point.

Rule 4. Focus now on which one to hold. Stocks in your portfolio need to execute. This is for the reason that if one stock does well, it can be a contender for accumulation; you should be able to identify which stock to keep and which one to let go.

.Rule 5. The hardest rule of all. This suggests is derived from O'Neil saying that one should vend any stock that moves down to 7-8% under the main purchase price. So knowing which kinds of stocks to handle is a big help.

Rule 6. This rule suggests that one should not acquire stocks when they are way behind. One should keep away from buying stocks with high dividends, oversimplified criteria, small price-earning ratios, and that are cheap.

Rule 7. This rule suggests that the amount you will invest on (no matter the cost) should be divided proportionately amid 5 to 7 stocks. Once you are aware of the amount you should place in every stock, calculate the amount of shares it can allow for every stock.

Rule 8. This rule shall tell you how stocks are accumulated. Do investment in stages: buy first, and if it does well, add further shares.

Rule 9. This is the opposite of the last rule. While a stock goes down, it is a high moment to sell 50% of your shares.

Rule 10. This rule recommends that you check on what you are doing on a customary basis. Assess and re-assess.

Stock Market | How Can I Make Money In The Stock Market?

It's great when your investments pay off. To be in control of your economic future by choosing the wisest investments. It's a high I truly love!

Even though it's not effortless, it is possible to make a profit from stock investments, if you decide on a few wise moves.

Let's looks at your safest bet for profitable stock market investments. If you know how many hours you can take for your investment efforts, it's not too difficult to earn a profit.

You say all you can spare are a couple of hours every week for your stock market investments? It costs you money when you don't select your investment strategy according to your schedule.

If your free time is severely limited, then day-trading won't be an option. If you don't keep an eye on what the market does, you can't position your investments to your best advantage. I have seen myriad people try to day-trade without allowing enough time and it usually costs them a lot of money!

Day trading isn't the only way to invest for profit! Even if you have just a little time to spend, there are ways to invest your funds wisely and earn extra cash.

It's my contention that daily monitoring and positioning isn't necessarily the best investment tactic. A lot of people would be better off with something less demanding of their time. By this I am not saying months or even years choose positions and then quit them in a few days if you decide to change. Having on a position that doesn't make you worry through the day is sufficient.

All you have to plan for is regularly scheduled time you can use for your investment style. You can schedule this every day, week, even less. This is time to analyze the market and make selections of stocks based on current economic events and the future outlook. If you apply a bit of your time, you will always find profitable investments.

Another investment style would be to specialize in just one field. This might mean that you just focus on annuities. Or maybe you would rather focus on a certain industry. Whatever may be the case, when you usually have limited time, I suggest you focus on finding a specialty that suits you and that you find interesting.

When you select your investment strategy, make sure you the pick one that's designed for your needs! Keep in mind that your strategy can only be effective if you can invest the necessary time. If you customize your investment style and change it as your circumstance dictates, you are in the most powerful position for maximum profit potential.

Stock Market | Stock Market Plunge

When trying to understand events of the plunge it is recommended referring to the basics principles of the stock market price movements. The first and the most basic rule of the stock market is that price is driven by supply and demand. If a trader (investor) must sell a stock he or she sells it at market price. Now, if a trader must to sell 10,000 (ten thousands) shares of a public company he has to find a buyer who would buy these ten thousand shares. If there is not enough buyers to cover demand to sell ten thousand shares then the price of this stock goes down until there are enough buyers to buy these shares. Of course, the stock market operates by billions and 10K is relatively small number which does not greatly affect price of a stock.

The second point that has to be cleared is that there could be two situations: fist is when a trader wants to sell stocks and second when a trader must to sell. In first case, if price goes rapidly down (plunges) an investor may change his/her mind and make a decision not to sell but wait when the traded stock recovers. Second case usually occurs when a stop-loss is hit or when a trader has received a final margin call. Whether it is a stop-loss or margin call it is not a trader who places an order to sell but a broker and in this case a position must to be eliminated (closed) at any possible market price.

Now, coming back to May 14, 2010 you may try to imagine that during the stock market decline big number of stop-losses was hit. I am not looking at situation with margin calls because in this case, as a rule, there are several days until margin is executed. When stop-losses are hit, brokers place orders to sell at market price. Now, because of an error in computer, or because of human error, as was only once mentioned in CNN "operator entered B (Billions) instead of K (thousands)", or by any other reason there were placed orders to sell billions of shares. Since there were no buyers for such big volume of stocks, price plunged down. One huge drop in one stock may generate chain reaction. If this stock is listed in the indexes (S&P 500, DJI, Nasdaq 100, etc) then this stock's decline drags the indexes down, then other stocks starts to follow the indexes and then new stop-losses are hit and more sell orders are placed on the market and then all repeats again and again and it accelerates into the crash.

Please keep in mind that all above only an assumption of possible scenario of May 14th events.

Mutual Funds | Ways To Redeem Mutual Funds

Review The Statement Of Your Investment

The first thing that you have to do is to check the statement of your mutual funds investment. Look at the bottom of the page - you will find a transaction slip attached there. You have to fill this transaction slip, but there are certain instructions that you have to follow in this regard. You can find these instructions at the back of the statement. The mailing address of the company you purchased the mutual fund is also printed on the back of the statement. All you have to do is just to fill the transaction slip and then mail the same to the company at the address given.

Contact The Broker

If you don't like the idea of sending the slip through snail mail, you can alternatively contact the broker who had helped you purchase the mutual funds initially. It can either be an online broker or a physical broker. In either case, the process of redemption of shares is not going to be very difficult. For example, if the broker had helped you set up a money market account, it is very much likely that the funds caused by the redemption of shares will get deposited directly into that account. Once the fund is deposited there, it is all yours - you can then reinvest the same or withdraw it for your own use.

Wait For The Maturity Date

The third alternative for redemption of shares is to wait until your mutual funds reach the maturity date. In most cases, the brokers provide you the option for automatic redemption once the funds reach their maturity. This is obviously the easiest process, as it does not require you to do anything from your side. Once your funds are mature, the redemption will happen automatically and the amount will directly be credited to your money market account that was set up with the help of the broker originally. Moreover, some brokers may also provide you an option to reinvest the redemption amount in other mutual funds or stock automatically.

However, when it comes to redemption of mutual funds, there are several things that you need to take into your careful consideration. For example, some companies may also charge you a penalty if you are redeeming the funds before its maturity date. So, it is important for you to read the terms and conditions thoroughly and make sure there's no penalty of early redemption.