Sunday, February 27, 2011

Invest or Save


Well we all know saving and investing are two different perceptions towards money. Let’s see how saving is quite different from investing. In savings, your initial amount of capital or cash remains constant, it is untouched and best part is that your earnings are guaranteed in terms of interest. So almost no risk involved in savings. In investment he capital value can go up or down. And returns are not guaranteed. So basically it involves risk compared to savings.
Savings provide resources for emergencies. The primary goal is to store funds and keep them safe. This is why savings are generally placed in interest-bearing accounts that are safe such as those insured or guaranteed by the government; so that you will have minimal loss if any. However, savings generally have low yields. And that is the reason people tend to take some risk and try the option of Investment. Investments provide much higher opportunities to yield more.
Saving is like your insurance. It insures you against any unwanted unpleasant hiccups in your life. And you are surely going to have some in your life such as losing your job, unexpected medical expense in the family. It is the backbone of you and your family’s financial well-being. Saved money grants you financial security. And the more you save, the more financial secure and independent you could be.
The objective of investing is generally to increase your wealth; so that you will realize all your dreams. But Investing will always involve risk. Never depend on your investment. There is always going to be risk of your stocks losing money big time. So Save some money and invest some to ensure better future.










Saturday, February 19, 2011

How Corporations Work?


The very first corporate charters were created in Britain. And it was in the sixteenth century. But these were public corporation owned by the government, like the postal service. Privately owned corporations started in the early 19th century in the USA, UK and Western Europe. It happened because the governments of those countries started allowing anyone to create corporations.
For any corporation to function and do good business, it needs to get money. Initially one or more people come together and contribute a primary investment to get the company started. These entrepreneurs may invest some of their own money. In case they don't have enough, they will need to persuade other people to contribute. People such as venture capital investors or banks can invest in the company. There are two ways of doing this, by issuing bonds, which are basically a way of selling debt or taking out a loan. Other option is to issue stock, that is, shares in the ownership of the company.
Long ago stock owners realized that it would be convenient if there were a central place they could go to trade stock with one another, and the public stock exchange was born. Eventually, today's stock markets grew out of these public places. A corporation is generally entitled to create as many shares as it feels. Each share is actually a small piece of ownership in the company. The more shares you own, the more of the company you own, and the more control you have over the company's operations. Companies sometimes issue different classes of shares, which have different privileges associated with them. So a corporation creates some shares, and sells them to an investor for an agreed upon price. The corporation now has money to run their business. In return, the investor has a degree of ownership in the corporation, and can exercise some control over it. The corporation can continue to issue new shares, as long as it can persuade people to buy them. If the company makes a profit, it may decide to reinvest the money back into the business or use some of it to pay dividends to the shareholders.
Most companies that go public have been around for some time. Going public gives the company an opportunity for a potentially huge capital infusion, since millions of investors can now easily purchase shares. But it also exposes the corporation to stricter regulatory control by government regulators. When a corporation decides to go public, after filing the necessary paperwork with the government and with the exchange it has chosen, it makes an initial public offering (IPO). The company will decide how many shares to issue on the public market and the price it wants to sell them for. When all the shares in the IPO are sold, the company can use the proceeds to invest in the business.













Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Stock Exchanges in INDIA


Other than Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange there are some regional stock exchanges in India and they are as follows:
1.       Ahmedabad Stock Exchange
2.       Bangalore Stock Exchange
3.       Bhubaneshwar Stock Exchange
4.       Calcutta Stock Exchange
5.       Cochin Stock Exchange
6.       Coimbatore Stock Exchange
7.       Delhi Stock Exchange
8.       Guwahati Stock Exchange
9.       Hyderabad Stock Exchange
10.   Jaipur Stock Exchange
11.   Ludhiana Stock Exchange
12.   Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange
13.   Madras Stock Exchange
14.   Magadh Stock Exchange
15.   Mangalore Stock Exchange
16.   Meerut Stock Exchange
17.   OTC Exchange Of India
18.   Pune Stock Exchange
19.   Saurashtra Kutch Stock Exchange
20.   Uttar Pradesh Stock Exchange
21.   Vadodara Stock Exchange








Sunday, February 13, 2011

BSE

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai.
It is the oldest stock exchange in Asia.
The BSE has the largest number of listed companies in the world.
It has also been cited as one of the world's best performing stock market.
 The BSE SENSEX (SENSitive indEX), also called the "BSE 30", is a widely used market index in India and Asia.
Though many other exchanges exist, BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India account for the majority of the equity trading in India.
 BSE's normal trading sessions are on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays declared by the Exchange in advance.
The Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers house the Bombay Stock Exchange since 1980.
It traces its history to the 1850s, when 4 Gujarati and 1 Parsi stockbroker would gather under banyan trees in front of Mumbai's Town Hall.
The location of these meetings changed many times, as the number of brokers constantly increased.
The group eventually moved to Dalal Street in 1874 and in 1875 became an official organization known as 'The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association'.
In 1956, the BSE became the first stock exchange to be recognized by the Indian Government under the Securities Contracts Regulation Act.
The Bombay Stock Exchange developed the BSE Sensex in 1986, giving the BSE a means to measure overall performance of the exchange.
The development of Sensex options along with equity derivatives followed in 2001 and 2002, expanding the BSE's trading platform.
The Bombay Stock Exchange switched to an electronic trading system in 1995.
It took the exchange only fifty days to make this transition.
The BSE has also introduced the world's first centralized exchange-based internet trading system, BSEWEBx.co.in to enable investors anywhere in the world to trade on the BSE platform.















Thursday, February 10, 2011

NSE


The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is a stock exchange in India located at Mumbai.
It is the 10th largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization and largest in India by daily turnover and number of trades, for both equities and derivative trading.
NSE has a market capitalization of around US$1.59 trillion and over 1,552 listings as of December 2010. Though a number of other exchanges exist, NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange are the two most significant stock exchanges in India.
Both of them are responsible for the vast majority of share transactions.
The NSE's key index is the S&P CNX Nifty, known as the NSE NIFTY which means National Stock Exchange Fifty, an index of fifty major stocks weighted by market capitalization.
NSE building is at BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex), Mumbai.
NSE was promoted by leading Financial institutions at the behest of the Government of India, and was incorporated in November 1992 as a tax-paying company.
In April 1993, it was recognized as a stock exchange under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.
NSE commenced operations in the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) segment in June 1994. The Capital market (Equities) segment of the NSE commenced operations in November 1994, while operations in the Derivatives segment commenced in June 2000.
NSE is the first national, anonymous, electronic limit order book (LOB) exchange to trade securities in India.
NSE Set up of S&P CNX Nifty.
NSE pioneered commencement of Internet Trading in February 2000, which led to the wide popularization of the NSE in the broker community.
NSE is the first and the only exchange to trade GOLD ETFs (exchange traded funds) in India.
Currently, NSE has the following major segments of the capital market:
    * Equity
    * Futures and Options
    * Retail Debt Market
    * Wholesale Debt Market
    * Currency futures
    * MUTUAL FUND
    * STOCKS LENDING & BORROWING
NSE's normal trading sessions are conducted from 9:15 am India Time to 3:30 pm India Time on all days of the week except Saturdays, Sundays and Official Holidays declared by the Exchange.