The Foreign Exchange Market also referred to as the "Forex" or "FX" market is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately US $3 trillion. The most often traded or 'liquid' currencies are those of countries with stable governments, respected central banks, and low inflation. Today, over 85% of all daily transaction involve trading of the major currencies; with include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Dollar.
Forex Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. It doesn't have a fixed location of a trading floor. The Forex Market is considered an Over the Counter (OTC) or "Interbank" market. The trading is done over the telephone and at computer terminals, in hundreds of banks around the world simultaneously.
Historically, Forex trading has been dominated by banks, including central banks, commercial banks and investment banks. However, the percentage of other market participants is rapidly growing, and now includes large multinational corporations, global money managers, registered dealers, international money brokers, option traders and private traders.
A true 24-hour market, Forex trading begins each day in Auckland, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial centre, first to Tokyo, then London and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations, caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
WHAT IS FOREX
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Kiat Memilih Produk Asuransi secara Bijak
Dalam rangka memperingati Hari ASURANSI NASIONAL 2007
Kompas, Kamis, 25 Oktober 2007
ADLER HAYMANS MANURUNG
Praktisi Keuangan
- Memahami diri pemegang atau pembeli asuransi
Pemegang atau pembeli asuransi harus tahu benar dan jelas mengenai kebutuhan asuransi. Pilih sesuai kebutuhan harus menjadi prioritas. - Mencari asuransi yang diinginkan dan ditawarkan perusahaan asuransi
Perusahaan asuransi banyak menawarkan produknya dan sangat bervariasi. Pembeli harus mebaca dengan teliti produk asuransi yang ditawarkan tersebut. Bila perlu, pembeli bisa berkonsultasi dengan teman atau ahli asuransi. - Memperhitungkan kemampuan atas asuransi yang akan dibeli
Bila pembeli ingin hanya asuransi, premi tersebut merupakan biaya, bukan investasi. Tahun berikutnya pembeli harus membayar premi lagi. Jangan memaksakan diri kalau tidak mampu untuk asuransi tersebut. - Mencocokan produk asuransi dengan kemampuan dana
Ini merupakan proses mengambil keputusan untuk memilih produk asuransi yang akan dibeli. Lebih baik bila produk asuransi yang diinginkan ada beberapa, dan ditawarkan oleh beberapa perusahaan, sehingga pembeli memiliki pilihan. - Membahas isian produk asuransi dari perusahan asuransi terpilih seusai kemampuan dana
Pembahasan ini penting karena brosur yang diberikan untuk dibaca sering kali diabaikan dan pembeli kurang teliti. Brosur dan informasi agen asuransi sebaiknya didiskusikan dengan pihak yang mengerti hukum supaya pilihan lebih terjamin. - Memilih perusahaan asuransi
Pembeli harus hati-hati agar tidak salah pilih. Pembeli harus mengetahui riwayat perusahaan. Status kepemilikan perusahaan kadang menjadi faktor pemilihan, tetapi bukan faktor utama. - Menandatangani perjanjian asuransi
Tahap ini perlu diperhatikan secara saksama apakah isi perjanjian sesuai dengan keinginan pembeli.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Retire Young Enough to Enjoy It
The Motley Foo, By Chuck Saletta
What is your top priority in life? Is it your money? The stuff that money can buy? Or is the time you have available to spend with your family, friends, and loved ones at the top of your list?
If your family is your top priority, then I'm sure you've thought about how much more time you'd have to spend with them if you no longer had to work. Yet with pension plans crumbling, you may be wondering whether you'll ever be able to retire, much less retire young enough to spend quality time with those you love.
Opportunity knocks
Fortunately for you, the demise of the traditional pension plan has been met with new tools. If you use them to their full advantage, they can be much better than the pension whose payments you may never see. Chief among them are programs that go by the names 401(k) and IRA. Unlike a pension, these plans aren't automatic, and they do require that you actively contribute your own money. If you choose to aggressively participate in those plans available to you, though, you'll have a legitimate shot of retiring early.
For many of us younger than 50, the 2007 annual contribution limits for our 401(k)s and IRAs are $15,500 and $4,000, respectively. If you're married and both you and your spouse work, that's $39,000 you can sock away this year across those two plans. If you both happen to work for companies that match your 401(k) contribution at $0.50 for every dollar, that's another $15,500 that could be socked away on your family's behalf.
If you're fortunate enough to work for one of these companies, you've got a decent match to help you along your way:
Company
Match
Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA)
$0.50 for $1 up to 6%
Cognex (Nasdaq: CGNX)
$0.50 for $1 up to 6%
FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS)
$1 for $1 up to 4%
Manhattan Associates (Nasdaq: MANH)
$0.50 for $1 up to 6%
Morningstar (Nasdaq: MORN)
$1 for $1 up to 7%
Regions Financial (NYSE: RF)
$1 for $1 up to 6% (pre tax) or $0.50 for $1 up to 6% (after tax)
Sea Change International (Nasdaq: SEAC)
$0.25 for $1 up to 6%
All told, including a generous employer match of $0.50 on every dollar you contribute, that's a potential of $54,500 to be put aside for your family in the next year alone. If you invest that much every year for the next 11 years and earn about 10% annually — near the market's historical return rate — you'll wind up a millionaire. Keep it up for a shade more than 16 years, and you'll have topped the $2 million mark. After 20 years, you'll pass the $3 million level.
Granted, this is an aggressive plan for most people, but it goes to show how following a disciplined savings plan and taking advantage of your company's benefit plan can help you accumulate a sizable nest egg for your retirement years.
You can take it with you
Best of all, thanks to two key provisions of the laws surrounding 401(k)s and IRAs, you can retire early without sacrificing your benefits. The first is that you're immediately vested in your contributions, and under most circumstances, you're vested in your employer's contributions after no longer than five years of service. Being vested means that the money is yours to take with you if you leave the company. The second is that, thanks to a technique known as "substantially equal periodic payments," you can withdraw your money from those accounts before the normal retirement age, without penalty.
Thanks to those rules, you have a far better shot at early retirement with 401(k)s and IRAs than you ever would with a pension. After all, most pension rules heavily weight your potential benefits on your years of service and severely penalize early separations. Of course, the drawback to modern retirement tools is that they're far more dependent on your active contributions than a pension — but isn't your early retirement worth it?
Get real
I know that going from $0 to $39,000 in annual savings is no small task. Realize, though, that the $39,000 may not all have to come out of your pocket. If your 401(k) is a traditional 401(k), that money comes out of your paycheck pre-tax. If you're in the 25% tax bracket, maxing out your and your spouse's 401(k)s will set you back $23,250 in spendable cash. That's less than $1,000 a month each. It's not exactly pocket change, but it does work out to slightly less than $32 for each of you, every day. Add in the daily $11 each it takes to max out your IRAs, and you're looking at a total per-person price tag of around $43 every day to retire within the next 11 to 20 years.
It's still a lot of money, but if you look hard enough, you just might find a good deal of it hiding in your lifestyle. Can you:
While you may not get there all at once, the sooner you get started and the bigger the commitment you make to your retirement, the faster you'll reach your goal. If that goal is spending extra time with your family, then getting started now can add years to your tally.
Your first step
With pension plans falling by the wayside and getting replaced with 401(k)s and IRAs, your retirement is more in your hands than ever before. The good news is that if you make the right moves, it can come sooner and be better than you ever thought possible. Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement leader Robert Brokamp and his team can help you determine what it will take to meet your early retirement goal. Take the next 30 days to check it out for free and start building your plan now. You've got nothing to lose, and it just might help you gain valuable years with your family.
This article was originally published Dec. 8, 2006. It has been updated.
Quote : http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/index.php?id=2964
Easy Means Of Finance - Home Equity Loans
Do you know that your home can get you finance on low rates? It is absolutely true that by placing your home as collateral with the lender, it is easy to procure funds. This way of availing funds is known as home equity loan. Through home equity loan, the borrower can procure large amount and on low rates.
Home equity loans, is a multipurpose loan which can be used for any of the following purposes, such as:
• purchasing a house
• financing a car
• home improvements
• wedding
• business purpose
• Holidaying etc.
The reason as to why the borrower gets attracted towards home equity loans is that it carries low rates, which is one of the criterions, that is, taken into
account while availing loan. Thus, other than low interest rate there are many other advantages of availing home equity loan; such as longer repayment period, hassle free process, multipurpose, flexible terms and conditions.
While availing home equity loan, there is a need to provide the proof of ownership and the present equity in the house. On the basis of this information provided, the lender determines various aspects of home equity loan such as loan amount, interest rate and repayment period.
Usually, it was seen that the borrower with less than perfect credit score were denied for loan in the financial market. This was the most embarrassing moment for the borrower. Fortunately, they will not be denied while availing home equity loan as this is easily available to both good credit scorer and bad credit scorer. However, it is possible that they are obliged to pay bit high rates. But, this doesn’t matter because it also improves the credit score, if timely repayments are made.
Although, home equity loan is known for its low rates but still there is a need to research and compare various offer in the financial market. These two elements will let the borrower know that how much, the deal is competitive.
There are thousands of lenders in the financial market, who offer home equity loans. The borrower can also apply loan through internet, that is, online mode. Through online mode, it is just a matter of minutes to apply. The borrower is only needed to write secured business loan on any search engine and with a single click, number of websites will be displayed on the screen. And after comparing he can choose from the one, offering the minimum and competitive rates.
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