Article: Hit for Six: India's Stock Market Declines When Indian Cricket Team Loses One-Day Matches

Monash University issued the following news release:
With the Australian cricket team touring India, investors on India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) have good reason to feel nervous with new research showing when India's cricket team lose one-day internationals, a decline is recorded in the stock market.
Research by economists Professor Russell Smyth and Dr Vinod Mishra at Monash University suggest the performance of the Indian cricket team in one-day matches can significantly impact on the fortunes of the Indian stock market.
"While a win by the Indian cricket team has no statistically significant upward impact on stock market returns, a loss generates a …

Impact of Sachin Tendulkar's Centuries on Indian Stock Market

Sachin Tendulkar has got 94 centuries in International Cricket so far. He has certainly has had an impact on all over India, and over the other cricketing nations. We performed an analysis of the day Sachin Tendulkar hits a century, and the movement in the Stock Market (SENSEX) the very next day. Although Sachin hit his first International century in the year 1990, but India got its LPG policy in the year 1991. So, in all the 93 centuries that were hit during the Stock Market era of India, gave the following statistics:
SENSEX Rises: 55 Times
SENSEX Falls: 38 Times
SENSEX Flat: 1 Time
Sachin was at its peak during the years of 1998-1999, when he had just given up his captaincy. During these years Sachin hit 23 Centuries. Coincidentally at this time the Asian economy was under the effect of Recession due to the Asian Financial Crisis. 16 of those 23 centuries, the stock market fell (Although Sachin did try his best). Similarly, in the recent Great Recession of 2007-09, Sachin hit 8 Centuries, of which the Market fell 5 times. So, if we remove all the recessionary forces from the Sachin Tendulkar - Stock Market analysis, we would get the following:
SENSEX Rises: 44 Times
SENSEX Falls: 17 Times
SENSEX Flat: 1 Time
This gives us the following analysis:

1. When Sachin Tendulkar scores a century, it is very likely that the Stock Market will rise the next day. (Provided there isnt a recession)
2. Sachin Tendulkar is always at its best, during the times of Recession, since the time he has been at the peak of his form, it has always been recession, i.e. Asian Financial Crisis and Great Recession.
3. Even God, Sachin Tendulkar, cant help when there is a recession in the economy.

So, if you are an Investor in the markets always be on the watch out when Sachin scores his next Century.

Cricket Stock Exchange

The Cricket Stock Exchange, or CricStock, is an online trading game which works on the principles of a stock market. The website was launched ahead of 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
On CricStock, (virtual) shares of cricketers (called player-stocks) are listed, allowing users to trade those shares. The movement in ‘stock prices’ of cricketers is supposed to reflect their recent performance on field and how cricket fans expect their performance to be in future e.g. fall in stock price of a cricketer might indicate that the cricketer is not performing well of late, and fans don’t expect him to return to form as well in near future.
CricStock uses virtual money for all trading purpose, and there is no exchange of real money involved at any stage of the game.

[edit] Basics of the game

CricStock lists virtual shares of all international cricketers on its stock exchange. A person, after registration on the website, gets an amount of virtual money that he can use to buy shares of these cricketers.
The registered users of the websites, also called the traders, can gain (or lose) money by selling the shares of the cricketers at higher (or lower) price than purchase price of those shares.
Registered users also get dividends on the shares they hold. These dividends depend upon the actual performance of cricketers in ongoing cricket matches.

Stock-market impact of the International Cricket Council's decision to reallocate 2011 World Cup matches

This paper analyses stock-market reactions in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after Pakistan was stripped of hosting duties for the 2011 Cricket World Cup matches. It advances the literature by providing an analysis of a unique situation where a country was stripped of the right to host matches of a major sporting event. Pakistan's matches were redistributed among fellow host countries India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Analysing both regular and abnormal returns, I find an overall positive stock-market reaction in all these countries, albeit due to different reasons. There are negative reputational effects for Pakistan and positive reputational effects for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Further, the returns are negatively correlated with the number of matches awarded. The results suggest positive reputation effects associated with hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup matches, but a negative marginal impact of each additional match hosted.

Indian cricket team's 'poor performance affects stock market'

Pics: India win first Test against Australia

MELBOURNE: Here's yet another reason why the Indian cricket team should keep the winning streak alive, particularly when legend Sachin Tendulkar is in the playing side -- it's poor performance can affect the country's stock market, says a new study, led by an Indian-origin economist.

With the Australian cricket team touring India, Dr Vinod Mishra and his colleague Prof Russell Smyth at Monash University have found that the "poor" performance of India, in oneday matches mainly, can significantly impact on fortunes of the Indian stock market.

"While a win by the Indian cricket team has no statistically significant upward impact on stock market returns, a loss generates a significant downward movement in the stock market.

"India's main index, the CNX Nifty show that the Nifty Index was generally flat the day after a win, but the day following a loss the index dropped by an average of 0.231 per cent. The drop following a loss was more than seven times greater than the movement following a win," Prof Smyth said.

Furthermore, when Sachin Tendulker is playing in the losing side, the loss on the stock market could be 20 per cent more, say the economists.

Prof Smyth said, "In the 100 matches in which Tendulkar played and India lost, the average return the day after the match was 0.328 per cent, an 18 per cent higher drop compared to the average drop after losing a match.

"A sporting event is a non-economic phenomenon and, as such, one might expect that stock prices will not be affected. However, behavioural finance suggests large sporting events affect the sentiments of viewers cum investors resulting in upwards or downwards 'mood swings' in the market, which are reflected in stock prices."

According to the economists, the emotional areas of the brain are nearby and when the mood is low, emotions can impact normally objective decision making, despite economic decisions being made in the frontal lobe of the brain.

"A feeling of sadness might make investors withdraw from the world and the stock market, thus resulting in reduced trading for a while, whereas anger might make them behave in an impulsive manner which might involve selling of the stocks.

"When you are tuning in to follow how Australia performs against India in the one day internationals, before you write them off as meaningless matches, spare a thought for what the outcome might mean for Indian investors," Prof Smyth said.

Pics: India win first Test against Australia

Alternative Solar Energy - An Investors Guide

An increasing number of investors has alternative solar energy stocks in their portfolios. The alternative solar energy market is credited with a lot of growth potential. Especially for investors with a long-term perspective the alternative energy market offers numerous opportunities. Furthermore, every investor knows that with his or her money he or she is helping to shape a better future.
It is expected by analysts that the renewable energy business will grow into a $13 billion dollar industry by 2013. Such an incredible growth rate promises healthy returns on investments. Especially if you are able to invest in the right start-up company you might be able to experience similar growth rates to those of Microsoft a few years ago. As oil and electricity prices are climbing further more and more people become interested in alternative energy sources. While the price alone is not enough to understand and evaluate the current energy crisis it is something that everybody experiences as unpleasant in their daily lives. The more expensive oil and gas become the more attractive other forms of energy will be.
However, even in the field of alternative solar energy you also still need to apply due diligence before making any investment decision. There are promising companies out there but that certainly doesn't mean you can just purchase any stock. Furthermore, it is no just important to choose the right company, it is maybe even more important to only purchase at the right price. The biggest problem for the investor is that most companies within the green, renewable energy market are either start-ups or very young companies that do not have a reliable track record of earnings, if they have generated earnings at all. This can lead to over-evaluations and the forming of a bubble as seen in the dot.com market a few years back. Unless you are a very seasoned and experienced investor you should probably seek the advice of professional analysts and financial planners. Buying stocks in a company that has yet to generate earnings is really just a gamble based on hope. Investing in companies with a proven track record of growing earnings is probably the smarter choice.
Overall, the expectations are high and the mood is optimistic. The number of alternative energy funds is growing and so is the amount of capital invested in them. To ensure a successful development of this new sector, the continued support of investors, governments and of the course the consumer is required.

Strategy - Buy Loser Stocks

According to the analysis of DeBondt and Thaler, portfolio of the 35 biggest losers in a previous year outperformed the market by 30% after five years. It is interesting that the portfolio of the 35 biggest winners in a previous year underperformed the market by 10%. On the long run the winner portfolio will outperform the loser portfolio, but on the short run (three to five years) the loser portfolio will perform better. Therefore this strategy says: Create a loser portfolio and sell it after three to five years.
It is not entirely clear why this strategy works. Perhaps the reason is that those companies had "extremely bad luck", and that in the following years the "bad luck" will turn around. For a certain period of time the loser stocks will continue to lose, and the winner stocks will continue to win, but after that "the wheel of fortune" should turn around. Therefore, selling stocks in the first year is likely to generate a loss. If you might need that money soon, this is not a good strategy for you.
It is important to notice that the loser stocks are not losers without a reason, meaning that the loser stocks tend to have a greater risk. It is even possible that some loser stocks will cease to exist. Also they tend to have a low price, and therefore higher transaction costs, and higher transaction costs might turn this strategy unprofitable. It is important to find a balance between the risk, time available and the transaction costs.

Stocks Vs Bonds - Difference And The Risk Involved Between These Financial Instruments

Money is an essential element of life. We work and earn money to get the comforts of life, to educate our children and to increase our standards of living and so on. It is our human nature that forces us to try hard and earn money quickly. Just because of this greed, people invest their hard-earned money in the share markets. Two popular financial instruments that most of us have heard about are stocks and the bonds. Both of these instruments are quite popular with the masses. The basic idea of these instruments is to provide you an opportunity to invest in your money in a specific company and become its investor, so as to maximize your future profits. Both of these instruments are a good alternate of investing the money, but both have different roles to play in the share market.
Investors are aware about the fact that the share market is quite risky, but if it takes your favor, then it can shower the huge profits on you. Stock market news reveals the fact that the long-term investment in the stocks can do better than other asset classes. But on the other hand, during the swinging conditions of the share market, people go for buying the bonds of the corporate and companies since the bonds can adjust the risk. The financial experts suggest that favoring bonds over stocks is not the wise decision. Rather, investors should have multiple assets and they need to consider how one type of instrument relates to another in terms of returns and risks.
Let us now discuss the bonds and the stocks separately.
Bonds:
What are bonds? The answer to this question can be explained with the concept of loans. When you buy a bond, you are actually lending your money to the issuing party. Now this party will have to give you interest in the future. The value of the bonds depends up on the market interest rate of the particular scenario. Bonds are available for selling and purchasing in the open share market. The worth of the money invested in the bonds actually comes from the interest rate that the investors earn on the bonds. If you have a bond that fetches you 4 % interest rate and the market's general interest rate is going on 3 % then you can sell this bond in the share market at a higher face value than actually you purchased it for.
Unlike stocks, bonds come with limited risk and promise you to get the fixed interest whether the issuing party is doing good business or facing loses. Again, bonds are different from the stocks since bonds have a pre defined time frame. They have a fixed maturity date and after which, it expires. When a bond expires, the principal amount is also returned to the investor. The risk that is involved with the bonds is that the issuing institution may not return the principal amount. To avoid such situations, an investor should invest in institutions that have a sound reputation.
Stocks:
What are stocks? Stocks are the shares of the companies. An investor investing in the stocks become a co-owner of that company. Stocks reflect the stability of a company and an investor, with the view to avoid risk, must invest in the stocks of the company that is reputed and stable. Stocks are available in three categories, i.e. small caps, mid caps and the large caps. These categories decide your stake in the company.
Unlike bonds, stocks fluctuate in the value and its worth is completely dependent up on how the company is performing. The profit on stocks is again dependent up on the performance of the company. With the rising performance of the company, its stock price increases and hence investor gains profits. One can also sell stock with this increased value.

NYSE Top Formation Says We Should Expect Prices To Fall To Thousands

On a review of NYSE price formations over several times frames something quite interesting has reared its head to challenge the commonly held assumption that the long term trend of the stock market is up.
Specifically the evidence that refutes the long term up trend assumption can be seen by the appearance of several diamond topping patterns that have occurred on multiple time frames, most recently a duration of the past year, but perhaps more importantly also a larger one with a duration of the past 20 years!.
Whilst several diamond topping patterns of a 1-2 year duration can been clearly be seen in a 20 year weekly or monthly chart of the NYSE, so too can a very large diamond topping pattern be seen that has a formation duration of 15 years.
Quite ominously, this 15 year pattern appears now to be close to completion, and as it resolves it will target 1000 in the NYSE over the coming 3-7 years, some 70% below current price levels of 7000 at the time this article is written.
It is important to note that this pattern takes no account of economic conditions and is purely a technical analysis of price patterns that can clearly be seen in the NYSE at this time. Whether or not the pattern completes and whether or not we see a 1000 level in the NYSE - only time will tell, but with this pattern having a success rate of nearly 80% the odds certainly appear in its favor.
To watch the video in support of this view please click here or alternatively read on to find out more about the diamond topping pattern.
Lets look in a little more detail at this pattern, setting aside the potential outcomes for the broader equity markets.
For diamond tops, the prior price trend is upward where the diamond acts as a reversal of the prevailing price trend with a volume trend that diminishes over time. Volume on the breakout however is usually high.
Whilst these formations have a failure rate of around 20%, they still resolve as you would expect 3 out of 4. Quite good actually.
The average decline of (21%) is about what you would expect for a reversal.
The short-term price trend is up just before the formation, leading to the minor high on the left. Then prices decline and form a minor low before moving higher again. They continue to fluctuate forming minor highs and lows in a diamond shape when the peaks and valleys connect.
Most diamond tops are not symmetrical, irregular diamond shapes are common for diamonds.
For diamond tops, prices usually trend up to the formation. With this definition, diamond tops need not form at the top (or bottom) of a price chart-they can form anywhere.
Having said this we must be aware that not all diamond tops and bottoms work out as expected - so keep your wits about you.

Stock Market News and Finding Out Potentiality of a Stock

You cannot expect the stock market to run in your favor. It will take its own course depending on the market conditions and it is up to you to follow the course. If you do not follow, losses are certain and if you follow, you can make big gains in no time. Serious and wise investors never miss a chance of viewing the live stock, getting updated with market news, having a glimpse at the stock recommendations and related market paraphernalia.
If you are not an informed investor and if you do not consider market volatility then you are taking stock trading as gamble. You may win only by chance which is a big risk for you. Do not take it as gamble. See your hard earned money grow by taking informed buying and selling decisions.
Build a strategy for yourself and follow it; if it doesn't work out for you build another one. Continue with the process until you are able to build a strategy that works for you to the fullest. It is then that you can climb up the stock market ladder without fall. As beginners it is very natural to face losses but do not let any negative attitude dominate you. It is only a positive approach that will steer you towards giving shape to your trading goals.
Read market news regularly so that you know exactly what is happening in the market, which sector is showing an upward trend, which companies are consistently exhibiting good results, etc. The live stock market will let you view the latest market statistics. You can take into account stock recommendations displayed in the live stock. No doubt these stock recommendations are put up in the list by experts who have years of market experience behind them, but it will be wise on your part to do a further research and then select the one that is the most potential. It will take only some time of your efforts to find out the potentiality of the stock you are going to buy so that you do not regret later.

How the Stock Market News Can Help You Pick the Investment

Trading stocks effectively requires that you know when is the correct time to buy and to sell. There are many trading signals that traders and investors use to alert them. Some traders in the stock market today will use automated systems that can be taught or programmed to recognize certain patterns in stock charts. Once they identify a pattern, these traders will then automatically buy and sell the stock. The advantage of the software is that it takes out the emotion of buying and selling, which can cause traders to hesitate or make mistakes.  In the absence of such software, investors will look to other trading signals to alert them. One of these is stock market news. It is perhaps the most widely used by traders and investors.
When an investor is stock picking or a trader is giving stock tips, it is usually because they have heard positive news about a particular stock pick. If the stock market news is reporting that a particular company has seen its revenues increase for the third consecutive quarter, it may indicate to investors that the company is a good buy and they will start picking up shares in the company. It is better to have several reliable news sources so that you can confirm any stories that you hear. Using non reliable sources will see you lose out on opportunities or will make you lose money from wrong information.
Stock market news can make the markets go up or down as investors listen to news on the economy and hear about jobless claims. Should there be any negative news, investors will sell out and cause the market to go down. This sudden drop in the market can cause more fear in other investors, thus causing them to collectively start selling, which in turn will create a bearish market. This will continue until such time that there starts to be positive news about the economy and unemployment. Investors who use technical analysis will be able to perform chart analysis on the market and identify where a reversal may take place.
There are many places that provide stock market news. Investors can look online to get the latest developments in the different industry sectors or for individual stocks. If you are not familiar with how the markets can react to negative news, you should try to research or watch a stock market video detailing the more well known events that have seen markets decline.

Relying on Stock Market News of a News Portal

Are you driven by the 'get rich quick' myth? Do not get into the trap. It is easy to lose but difficult to win. You will need enough patience and require adequate knowledge to make a mark in the stock market. Once you are confident and have set goals with the right strategies and once you are able to learn the intricacies of the trade, only then can you venture for good returns. You should be able to exactly find out key market information or market statistics from the live stock news.
For many novice investors, the various data, charts, and lists exhibited in the live stocks seem a bundle of confusion. You need to equip yourself with the power of deciphering the right stock recommendations. You may come across a number of stock recommendations in the live stock news but it is choosing potential stocks that matters.
How important is stock info towards the achievement of your trading goals? The importance cannot be measured because if you are not informed of what is happening in the market, about market fluctuations, about the movement of stock prices, about which sector is gaining, and related paraphernalia, you will stay far behind. It is only market news that will keep you updated with the latest stock trends. Now, the question is where can you read or view relevant stock market news that which carries detailed information about every incident about the stock.
Obviously it is a news portal. You cannot rely on newspapers because up-to-the-minute market news cannot be published; you do get an overview of the last day's or last week's performance of the market in the print media. You can rely a bit on television stock market news but you may not get detailed information of what exactly you want as most news items are covered in a matter of half an hour or an hour. It is only a news portal, preferably a stock news portal that will well serve your purpose. Not all news portals can satisfy your craving for information. Conduct a research and choose a platform that broadcasts news faster than other platforms. Once you are able to find it, you can always log in to that particular news portal any time of the day or night as per your convenience from the comfort of your space.

Global Investment Banking Along With Stock Trading Company

Global investment banking entails the raising capital like equity or debt for clients as well advising on acquisition transactions and customer possible merger. On top of it, global investment bank also market securities like stocks, treasury bills and bonds to institutional investors. Today there are many facilities available for doing investment online. Trading Online through stock trading company is best way for when trading stocks and for investments. Advent of the online stock trading company brought trading to regular masses and has made the online brokerage company lasting institution of financial world. There is plenty of such online stock brokers are available. These broker doing aggressive marketing now days for capturing new investors.
There are many online brokerage firms which are available in the market. The important criteria kept in mind during selecting online broker are follows-
• Brokerage fee / Commission.
• Initial deposit
• Newsletter
Brokerage Fee - Broker usually charges few percentage amount of every transaction. More transaction you make, more money have to be paid to broker. Essentially brokerages are dependent on the number of transaction and the amount of transaction. Phone order is also option available for investors but brokerage fee for phone order would be much higher as it needs human intervention.
Initial Deposit - Stock trading company also require minimum initial deposit for trading stock on their site. Minimum initial deposit could start at the $500 and go way up to the $10,000 or even more. If investor account balance goes below the deposit amount, then penalty fees of $10-20 will charged them every month.
Tools / Newsletter - Investing for stock can facilitate by broker if they can provide investors with streamer that allow investor to see the current prices of stock. Online brokers facilitate investor with "Trading Newsletter" that includes all you need for trading in stocks. This is comprehensive and has the information on stop loss points, new trading picks, daily targets, long and short term strategies and few other educational tips for stock trading online!
Global investment banking could be very confusing to ordinary individual and which is reason for many people to take help from the qualified investment banks. Truly fine providers of different global financial service should have solid foundation of dealing with international market. It must also be able for timely delivering global financial service and solutions which their clients may require from them. Few traits that good international financial service provider should have is that they should able to offer advisory, trading, sales and most importantly various strategies for raising company's capital. Global investment banking is important to number of clients worldwide. These have lot of going for them and also offer flexibility for clients. The primary objectives of the international investment bank are to ensure financial success of clientele. This is reason why these banks offers plenty of solution, strategies and services which involve raising of the capital from public and private sector, financial restructuring, and also the financial solution or even the financial advisory. By giving such services, it guarantees such international investment banking unit offers financial market knowledge with coordinated execution to clients all around the world.

Stock Market Jargon Explained

In these tricky financial times we are hearing more and more financial jargon, which can be a headache for some people trying to keep a tab on what is going on with the world's money problems. One way of keeping an eye on the world's financial ups and downs is to check how national indexes are doing in the stock exchange. However, the stock exchange is a minefield of acronyms, jargon and industry buzz words which may fly right over regular people's heads.
The stock market is not a physical place but a network of trading centres around the world in which people or companies buy and sell company stock and derivatives. Exchanges are where the stocks are listed and traded by companies whose work involves matching up buyers and sellers. The largest stock exchange in the world is the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York City. A stock market index is a portfolio of shares used by media and financial services to judge the market. Ecommerce companies listed on these markets are still reliant on payment service providers and money transfer services, they are often the supports that allow the businesses to operate.
Here is a quick rundown of some of the main acronyms and what they are:
FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 or 'footsie 100' is a share index of the 100 most capitalised companies in the UK. These include the likes of HSBC, BP, Barclays, Aviva, J Sainsbury, Tesco and Prudential. The FTSE 100 is the most widely used indicator of the UK stock market as it represents about 80% of the market in the London Stock Exchange.
NASDAQ
NASDAQ is the largest trading (by volume) exchange in the world. It was the world's first fully electronic stock exchange and now owns 8 exchanges in Europe and owns a third of the Dubai Stock Exchange. NASDAQ originally stood for 'National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations' but now just goes by NASDAQ.
Dow Jones
The Dow Jones is a grouping of all the indexes around the world and covers around 90% of market capitalisation for the worlds established and emerging markets. This means that under the term Dow Jones there are thousands of companies which have become financially attractive enough to make them worth people investing in so are put on the stock market for people to buy and sell bits of.
GOOG
GOOG is an example of a company on the exchange. GOOG is Google's ticker symbol. (Every company has an abbreviation for ease of trading.) Google is listed on the NASDAQ and is one of thousands of companies currently trading around the world.
Hopefully these explanations will help you keep your head from popping while the world's economy is under pressure.

A Brief History of the Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges

The influence of the Asian stock market is ever increasing. Asian Stock Market Investments are now popular for traders all over the world. The three biggest stock markets in Asia are Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Here we take a look at the history of these three stock markets.
TOKYO
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (commonly known as the TSE) is Asia's largest stock market. It was first established in 1879, and gradually grew in importance over the course of the next sixty years. During this period it collaborated with several other exchanges across Japan, and by the 1940's was combined with ten others. These partnerships ceased after World War 2. During the war trading stopped. The TSE once again opened for business in 1949. It saw major success in the 1980's and for a time accounted for over 60% of the world's stock market capitalisation. In 1990, though, it crashed in a major way.
HONG KONG
Informal security exchanges have been taking place in Hong Kong since 1861. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) was opened thirty years later under the name of the Association of Stockbrokers in Hong Kong. In 1914 it was renamed the HKSE. In 1921 a separate Hong Kong Stockbrokers Association was founded but this later merger with the HKSE. Between 1969 and 1972 three other organisations were founded; the Far East Exchange, the Kam Ngan Stock Exchange and the Kowloon Stock Exchange. Although they all operated independently of each other they did, along with the HKSE, share information. Eventually they all merged. Hong Kong is the second largest stock exchange in Asia.
SHANGHAI
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) differs to Tokyo and Hong Kong in that it is not entirely open to foreign investors, although they do play their part. This is because of tight capital account controls by the Chinese authorities.
Securities trading first began in 1866 in Shanghai but a stock exchange was not established until 1891. In that year there was a boom in mining shares and foreign businessmen founded the Shanghai Sharebrokers' Association, the first Chinese stock exchange. In 1904 it was renamed to its current name. In the 1920's, in place of the SSE, the Shanghai Securities and Commodities Exchange and the Shanghai Chinese Merchant Exchange started operating independently. They combined again in 1929, and Shanghai became the financial centre of the Far East in the 1930's, with significant Chinese and foreign investment. During World War 2, the Japanese invaded the Shanghai International Settlement in late 1941. The stock exchange was closed between 1941 and 1946. It then opened again for three years before closing during the Communist revolution in 1949. It wasn't re-established again for over four decades, in 1990. A successful decade followed with a 2001 peak, but this was followed by a four year slump in which its value halved. It reached another high in 2007 but has fallen since due the global economic conditions.

The Stock Market - Winner Takes All

The definition of a stock market is a public, non physical entity used to trade company stock at a price which is agreed upon by the participants of the market. If you were to think of a stock market as a physical thing, the closest thing it would be akin to is a grand bazaar, with everyone haggling for the best prices and inspecting their wares. The stock market is exactly like this except the things that people are haggling for are not woven goods or fresh spices but invisible stocks which represent the shares of a company. The people that are haggling are not old ladies searching for a good deal, but university educated hagglers known as stock brokers who represent clients and offer to get them the best deals at the smartest times at the lowest prices with the best potential for growth. A tall order, for sure, and many stock brokers feel the pressure.
With the weight of expectation on their shoulders, it is not surprising that stock brokers have been known to exaggerate a little bit, and in some cases a lot. Because of this, the market and its hagglers are often at the center of controversy. Due to high claims and even higher expectations stock market participants have been known to come up with some pretty creative schemes, most notoriously in the case of Bernie Madoff, as well as unknown hagglers like him, who helped contribute to the stock market crash of 2008. Everyone's pie was in the sky and nobody wanted to tell the exact truth to their clients because the truth doesn't sell as well as a dream. So they led their unknowing clients and investors on in thinking that everything was alright when in reality insiders such as Bernie Madoff knew the shoe was going to drop and tried to take everything they could, including what they had personally invested, before it all fell apart- leaving their clients with a heavy bill to pay.
In the aftermath of all of these things, billion dollar government bailouts and public scorn- the stock market has been called to such accountability as has not been seen in many decades. Now with president Obama's call to regulate Wall Street, the stock market as it was, that grand bazaar, could very well be turned into something very different- a well ordered and regulated sort of thing, held to accountability. Not a grand bazaar, but a church bake sale. Who can say if Wall Street will actually be regulated or not, but if it is it will have a giant effect, most likely reverberating throughout world stock markets and global and local economies. Regulation could solve many problems of dishonesty, but possibly create many more new problems, such as making it more difficult to trade which may frustrate some clients and lead the stock market to lose some of its investors. Who knows? But changing the character of that grand bazaar and all it represents will definitely be a loss of some memorable history.

Four Stock Markets Poised For Growth - Investing in Asian Stocks

One of the worst mistakes an investor could make in the constantly evolving global market would be to ignore Asia and its growing industries. The Asian countries have lots of potential for growth and those that invest in these markets will be able to take advantage of the imminent profits.
What makes the Asian market such an attractive investment? Asian countries are now developing many of the qualities necessary to rapidly develop their economies. These traits include a strong work force and a rapidly growing consumer lifestyle. As the demographics of most Asian countries suggest, men and women alike are preferring starting a career to starting a family. This change results in an increase in the money earned while simultaneously freeing disposable income. As domestic demand increases, the GDP and overall economy will grow.
For many years, American companies have outsourced to Asia as a means of obtaining cheaper labor. As Asian countries are now being exposed to consumerism, they are now providing an internal use for their production. By maintaining their production ability while creating internal demand, Asia's economy is rapidly improving.
There are four countries that an investor looking to take advantage of the growing Asian economies should invest in: China, India, Russia, and Japan. For the past thirty years, China has had the world's fastest growing economy. With a relatively low government debt, increasing private consumption, an extremely successful stimulus plan, and half the world's new construction, China has many of the qualities to become a highly profitable investment. India shares many of the same qualities as China, and with growing domestic demand and a highly educated work force, they are determined to increase competition globally. Russia's advantage in the Asian economies is that Russia holds massive reserves of oil and natural gas, meeting Asia's demand for energy. The final country, Japan, may not seem like an obvious investment, due to the bubble burst Japan endured in 1990. But fifteen years later, Japan's economy finally shows signs of permanent improvement. Real estate and bank credit, the two causes for the crash, have recovered and are showing major signs for growth. Because of Japan's history, Japanese companies will often be overlooked, but their current economy they can offer large returns on initial investments.
With such dramatic domestic changes, there is new potential for growth and development throughout Asia. A smart investor would take advantage of these opportunities in order to obtain some of the profit that will the successful Asian markets will produce.

Stock Exchanges - Understanding Their Role in the Financial World

It's no secret that the economy has been struggling over the past few years. Between a crumbling housing market and a credit card industry that's pretty out of control, people have become very skeptical of putting their money into the hands of anyone that they don't know personally and trust. The flip side of this issue is that people are also looking to make a quick recovery from these financial woes, so they're interested in ways to grow their money faster, and that means investing in the stock market. If you've never considered investing publicly before, it could be helpful to learn a little bit more about the stock market and its role in the financial world.
The first stock exchange could be traced back to the early exchange courts in France, where courtiers de change managed and regulated agricultural debts for the banks. Because these courtiers sometimes traded the debts to each other for profit or positioning, they are considered to be the first stock market traders. It was not until 1792 that merchants in the newly formed United States met together at the outskirts of New York City to form the New York Stock & Exchange Board on what would later become Wall Street.
Depending on the country and the state of the economy, the stock exchange can perform one of several functions for the financial community. One of the most basic purposes for the stock market is to provide a place that companies can come to raise capital for their day to day operations that is a cheaper alternative to high interest loans from a bank. Capitol gathered by companies through public investments doesn't have to be paid back, but in exchange, they provide their investors with a share of ownership in the company that can be used as currency in the market.
Another one of the most important roles of the stock market is to act as a national barometer of the entire economy. When the stock market is up and the trading is vigorous, it can safely be assumed that the GDP is also up, meaning that people are making and spending money rapidly. When the stock market is down, and trading is slowed or stopped, it is usually a good indication that something is affecting the GDP negatively. This can be anything from political upheaval to a high unemployment rate. This barometric quality of the market is why small exchanges like the Dow can still have so much power.

Stock Market Sectors and Industries

Are they important?
Yes. You want to have a way of looking at all the stocks within the markets divided into categories by industries and then further into sectors. This allows you to see where the action is. If there is an outstanding stock within an industry it can help you in a number of ways. You may find a second leading stock in the same industry if the reason for the move is industry relevant.
For example, when the first steel company made a deal to supply China some time back you may have missed the first but it could have given you a heads up on spotting the second.
Another benefit to looking at industries is finding supporting companies. So when the steel company was roaring, who was shipping it to China? You could look into the shipping sector and target who was going to lead that group to new heights.
How do I judge the health of an industry? It should be evident from what's going on within it. Looking at the top 5 stocks in any industry or sector is going to show you if that industry is profitable, making good sales and growing it's market.
Should I buy a great stock in a poor industry? Often a stock cannot move in isolation from it's industry no matter how good it is. Again think of human involvement here. You may think of a bank that's doing great guns at the moment but the weight upon that industry is just too much. No matter how good the individual bank may be it's not going to soar into being a lone leader whilst the industry is suffering. There are safer places to put your money.
If there are several great looking stocks in an industry, should I buy them all? No. Don't just piggy back onto similar stocks. In any sector there are not likely to be more than 1 or 2 truly great leaders. Best to focus on finding those leaders rather than just picking up the left overs. They may get taken along for a short ride but you'll be missing the great gains a leader will give you.
Hope you found it informative reading about stock market sectors and industries.

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How to Make Money in the Stock Market - Overview

This is second in my "How To Make Money In The Stock Market" series of articles. Search for "Learning the Stock Market" to find the first article which lists the entire set. How to make money in the stock market - overview, Here you'll find a general overview based on commonly asked questions. What is the stock market? The early New York Stock Exchange started as a group of men trading beneath the shade of a buttonwood tree in New York City.
This bears little resemblance to today's computerised global markets but the principles remain the same. Stock represents ownership of a piece of corporation. You can choose to buy a piece of a corporation for many reasons and equally you may choose to sell your piece. This buying and selling of stock takes place in the stock markets where buyers and sellers come to make these exchanges in return for money. In a free market, the price a buyer is willing to pay or a seller is willing to accept is entirely discretionary.
You can set your price and cannot be forced to buy or sell at any other price. What are the benefits of owning stock? The main reason for investing in stock is for your money to grow in value over time relative to inflation. Historically stocks have proved to be more profitable than bonds or other instruments but this must be taken in context with time. During any short period stocks have the potential to lag other investments but over the long haul history shows there is no better place for individuals to invest than in the stock markets. Dividends on individual stocks are also a benefit. Consider them just that - a benefit but not the main return. Your main reason to invest in stock is for your capital to grow and so choosing a stock on the basis of potential dividend may actually lead to a significant loss of capital if the stock price declines.
Who makes money? In terms of the trading values, theoretically professional traders ought to be making money but the sad fact behind the statistics is that the majority of professional traders and fund managers do not make decent returns for their investors. This is why more people are choosing to handle their own investments but if the professionals can't do it what hope do you as an individual have? Much! There are restrictions upon professional traders and difficulties associated with trading huge accounts which do not apply to individual investors. The effects of these can make massive differences in returns. As you learn more you'll understand that you are in the best position to take responsibility for trading your own personal capital and will undoubtedly reap far greater returns than leaving it to others. Is it easy?! The $1,000,000 question! Is driving a car easy? Sure - when you know how!
But if you had 20 different people telling a beginner how to do it and each with a different opinion it could prove difficult and dangerous. In fact many may even give up before mastering the controls. So goes it with trading. You want to avoid jumping from strategy to strategy. Trial and error on several get rich quick schemes can soon leave your pockets lighter. The markets have been around for more than 200 years and operate on the same emotions now as then. Instead of trying to beat them quickly into giving you money, learn how they operate and what repeatedly drives successful stocks to the top.
Take the time necessary to truly learn how to reliably, safely and sustainably make money in the stock market. That's the key to true financial freedom. It doesn't need to take years but it does require careful study and application. Hope you found it informative reading this over view of how to make money in the stock market. To read the next article in this Learning the Stock Market series simply search for Bill Benson or USA Stock Market.