Computational finance is commonly referred to as financial engineering. This branch of finance relies on several factors such as, mathematical finance, computational intelligence, and simulations. These factors are necessary for making decisions in trading, risk management, and investments. Investors, stockholders, or any one who makes an investment can benefit from the principles of computational finance. People that work in the field of computational finance are often referred to as “quants” due to the fact that they need to have great quantitative skills to perform their job. Working in computational finance generally requires at least a masters degree and often times a PhD. There are many areas in which computational finance techniques are used including investment banking, risk management, strategic planning, collateralized debt obligation, and bargaining among others.

Financial Engineering and Rationality: An examination of the Monty Hall problem of financial engineering possibly effecting irrational agents.

Computational Finance Research: The Learning Systems Group research models and methods concepts for computational finance.

International Association of Financial Engineers: A non–profit professional organization focused on promoting advancement in the quantitative finance profession.

Financial Engineering: The article focuses on the importance and the future of financial engineering based on the economy.

MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering: View research projects by the MIT research center whose focus is to sustain and to encourage computational finance and financial engineering research.

Financial Engineering with Mathematica: Six PDF documents of articles that are based on financial engineering.

Monte Carlo Simulation: An analysis on assessing financial value with the Monte Carlo simulation.

Computational Finance: A look at methods and challenges that can create financial opportunities.

Agent-based Computational Finance: Evaluation on the agent-based models in finance.

The Journal of Computational Finance: A quarterly computational finance journal published internationally.

Financial Engineering: Describes what financial engineering is and provides access to research conducted at McCormick.

Optimizations in Financial Engineering: A review of principal prospects such as the Least-Squares Monte Carlo (LSM) algorithm.

Financial-Engineering and Financial-Accounting Perspectives: The McDonough School of Business and Goodes School of Business aim to bring two solutions for regulating instability in other comprehensive income.

Financial Engineering Tutorial: A start up tutorial for financial engineering professional fields.

Evolutionary Computation: A synopsis of the Shu-Heng Chen. Ph.D. article Evolutionary Computatuion: A Principle for Search.

Computational Intelligence: An explicit look at the history and the prominence of computational intelligence in finance.

An Introduction to Computational Finance: An in-depth 13-chapter guide to computational finance.

Introduction to Monte-Carlo Methods: A detailed introduction into the Monte-Carlo methods.

Control And Financial Engineering: The fundamentals of finance engineering with a few examples.

Miraculous Financing: A look at the financial crisis in America and what a change of financial engineering could have done to prevent it.

A Practioner’s Guide to Mathematical Finance: Mathematical finance overlaps computational finance and this guide simplifies mathematical finance.

Credit Enhancement through Financial Engineering: Details how credit enhancement can be achieved through financial engineering.

Developing Skills: Tips and advice for developing skills for successful financial engineering in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation that can be utilized in other professional fields.

Computational Intelligence Society: A group that works to address real world issues with biologically motivated computational paradigms.

Computational Finance Resources: A great list of computational finance resources including software and technical reports.

Computational Finance History: An article explaining the history of the field of computational finance.

Accidental Death Benefit - If death is due to an accident, an insurance policy may pay out an accidental death benefit in addition to the death benefit normally paid to the beneficiary. Age and time limits may prompt exclusions.

Actuary - An American term for a mathematician who specializes in calculating insurance statistics, rates, reserves, and dividends.

Adjustable Rate - If the market-rate index fluctuates, then so does this interest rate.

Agent - An insurance company’s licensed representative authorized to sell and service their insurance policies. This agent can be an independent individual representing more than one insurance company to obtain the best pricing for a client. He usually works on commission which is a percentage of the premium which is paid by the client and a service fee. Also usually paid on commission is the direct agent who works exclusively for one company and sells only that company’s product.

Annuitization - Conversion process in which all or a portion of monies in a non-qualified annuity or a qualified retirement plan becomes a scheduled, fixed amount, regular income payment.

Assets - The invested, admitted, and other assets of an insurance company available to pay its debts. Invested assets include cash, real estate, stock and bonds. Other assets are the non-income producing assets such as office furniture and unpaid premiums. Admitted assets, or total admitted assets, represents everything owned by the company. It depends on the state to determine which assets are admissible.

Benefit Period - For health insurance purposes, the benefit period means a set number of days benefit payments are paid out to the insured.

Broker - A broker is paid by the client to search for the right insurance on the client’s behalf.

Business Net Retention - An insurance company’s writings, which are the sum of its direct and assumed, but not affiliated writings.

Capital - Shareholder equity of a traded insurance company. The stock protects the policy holders first, shareholders, second.

Captive Agent - Insurance company representative obliged to propose business to only to that one company so that the company at least has the right to refuse that business. In return, the insurance company provides benefits, including an expense allowance.

Claim - A claim is a notice that a loss may be covered under the terms of a policy.

Coinsurance - The amount of money a policy holder pays above the deductible. After the deductible is met, the insurer covers 100 percent.

Commission - The percentage of a policy premium paid to an insurance agent or other salesperson.

Coverage - The amount of protection that an insurance policy provides.

Deductible - The amount a policy holder pays before the insurance pays benefits. The higher the deductible, usually the lower the premium.

Direct Writer - An insurance company who directly sells its policies.

Dividend - The monetary return gained from stock.

Exclusions - Conditions not covered under an insurance policy.

Expense Ratio - The measure of the ratio of underwriting expense to net premium.

Floater - If the value of a certain amount of goods is not covered under a standard renter insurance policy, then a floater policy may be written in order to cover such things such as jewelry.

Grace Period - The period after the due date of a premium in which that premium may be paid without penalty.

Guaranteed Renewable - A guarantee that states a policy holder can renew his policy on the anniversary date of that policy. The insurance company has the right to raise the policy’s premium.

Guaranty Association - If an insurance company becomes insolvent, the guaranty association within the company’s state becomes responsible for its financial obligations.

Health Maintenance Organization - An HMO mandates that members must use only providers that participate in the HMO. It is prepaid group health insurance.

Indemnity - Loss reparation by replacement, payment, or repair.

Inflation Protection - Optional property insurance that keeps pace with inflation.

Insurance Adjuster - A representative of the policy holder’s insurance company who determines the company liability when a claim is sought.

Investment Income - Interest, capital gains, and dividends returned from an insurance company’s investment portfolio.

Laddering - Bond investments purchased so that they mature at different times.

Leverage - The exposure of an insurance company’s surplus is measured to operating and financial practices.

Liability - An insurance company’s legal, enforceable obligations, which are most often represented as pecuniary.

Liquidity - The ability of an insurance company to convert its assets to cash quickly.

Loss Control - The methodology used to reduce the severity or frequency of loss: prevention, reduction, segregation of exposure, transfer of risk, and avoiding loss.

Mutual Insurance Company - Policy holder owned companies with no capital stock.

Net Income - Total earnings, after taxes, from operations and capital gains as reported in the NAIC annual statement.

Net Leverage - The sum of the net premium written to policy holder surplus plus net liability to that surplus.

Net Premium - This amount is the policy holder’s premium minus the agent’s commission.

Out Of Pocket Limit - The total, predetermined amount of money that a healthcare policy holder must pay before the insurance kicks in 100 percent payment.

Participation Rate - The rate of gain in equity-indexed annuities that the annuity will earn.

Policy - The written insurance contract that holds all the particulars of that contract such as clauses, riders, and endorsements.

Pre-Existing Condition - A previously diagnosed medical condition that an insurance company may not cover. 

Quick Assets - These assets are quickly converted to cash.

Reinsurance - An insurance company’s insurance policy bought for its protection to minimize loss.

Renewal - The automatic continuance of an insurance policy by premium payment. 

Reserve - Treated as a liability, this is an amount representing actual or potential liabilities kept by an insurance company to cover policy holders debt.

Risk Management - The analysis of all risk exposure and how it affects the company.

Solvency - All the needed assets are available to satisfy all financial requirements of a company. 

Statutory Reserve - A reserve that is statutory means that it is required by law to keep.

Subrogation - Substituting one claim for another, this covers the transfer of the right to receive debt payment although a company is not the original creditor.

Tort - A tort is a private loss in which the injured person seeks damages in civil court.

Total Loss - A substantial loss where there is no value left of a policy.

Umbrella Policy - An umbrella policy is usually a broader-termed policy covering more than one insurance type which covers losses above the limit of those policies.

Underwriting - The selection process for insurance applicants. Underwriters classify applicants according to their degree of insurability and set premiums accordingly. The process also weeds out unacceptable risks and rejects them.

Waiting Period - Also called an “elimination period” which is a set amount of time before a policy kicks in its coverage.

Studying the stock market’s past in order to try to predict the stock’s future is referred to as technical analysis.

Trading Options

Trading options are a form of security that you can invest and trade in the stock market. They are securities based on normal stocks. Purchasing an option gives you the right to buy an underlying stock at a specific price at a later date. You profit if the stock market value rises above the agreed price. If the value of the stock crashes, you have only lost your premium.

Options Trading: The information on option trading and how they are traded on exchanges.

Options: A guide on getting started with options.

Welcome to the Technical Analysis Basics Guide: Learn the option trade basics.

Technical vs. Fundamental Analysis

There are two categories used to analyze securities and make investments called technical and fundamental analysis. A fundamental analysis requires research of the market and specific stocks checking if they are undervalued or overpriced. A fundamental analyst looks at the basics of a company to figure fair value. A technical analysis predicts a stock’s price by looking at its past performance. A technical analyst cares more if the public will buy the stock and not what the stock is worth. A technical analyst goes with the moment and trend to find if it will continue to go up or fade down.

Technical Analysis: Introduction: An introduction into technical analysis

Part 1: Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

Technical Analysis vs. Fundamental Analysis: Compare a technical and fundamental analysis.

Fundamental Analysis Vs Technical Analysis:  The debate over fundamental and technical analysis.

Technical Analysis

Understanding a Bar Chart

A bar chart is a basic tool of technical analysis. The financial instruments embedded in bars which are plotted as prices over a specific time period. You can spot a pattern of a stock more easily with a bar chart. A bar is four prices in a given day or time period. It is known as price bar. The price bar displays the opening price as a left horizontal line and the closing price as a right horizontal line. The high price is at the top of the bar and the low price is represented at the bottom of the bar.

Technical Analysis of Commodity Markets: Emphasis on Bar Charts:  The emphasis on bar charts.

Learn to Use Currency Trading Bar Charts:  Learning how to use currency trading bars.

Technical Analysis-The Bar Chart: Examine the bar chart in technical analysis.

Candlesticks

A candlestick is a chart that displays the high, low, open and close for a security each day over a specified time. There are two basic candlesticks. A Bullish Candle is when the close is higher that open. The color of this candle is usually green or white. A Bearish Candle is when the close is lower than the open. The area in the middle shows the range of the opening and closing prices. When the block in the middle is marked in, the stock closed lower than it opened. This color is usually red or black.

Understanding Forex Trading Bullish Candlestick Charting: Information on how the Forex Trading Bullish candlestick works.

Introduction to Candlesticks: An introduction to the formation and history of candlesticks.

Online Trading Concepts: Learn the basics of the Candlestick.

Technical Analysis of Options

To be successful in your options, you must develop and depend on strategies. Keep in mind of the amount of time it takes for a move, as options lose value over time. Understand the statistics related to the options. Know the percentage of the option along the size of an average option. Avoid being too optimistic. View your options in a conservative way by using strategies with expiration dates.

Option Greeks

An Option Greek measures the options sensitivity to various risk components to the price of an option.

Delta measures the rate change in an option price. An estimation of the change in Delta for a one point move in a stock is called a Gamma. The measure for time decay of an option is called Theta. Measuring the standard deviation of the past 30 days of closing prices in the underlying security is called volatility. A Rho Greek measures an option price due to interests rate shifts.

Why Use the Greek Options?  Learn about why traders use Greek Options.

Option Greeks: Understanding how Option Greeks works.

It is important to understand the terms when it comes to technical analysis. However, you do not have to know how they work. Different software programs can help you learn the terms. Learning from hands on experience is one the best ways to learn from trading.

When kids ask for money to buy something, they are already having a little understanding about how “money makes the world go round.” Yet, it may be quite hard to explain how money really affects real life and even harder to explain more abstract concepts like savings bonds or bank accounts to younger kids. Here is some information and links aimed at teaching kids how to count and save money, with special emphasis on savings bonds.

SAVINGS BONDS QUESTIONS ANSWERED

What is a bond?

A bond is actually another way of saving money. Bonds can be bought from the government and there are two different types. The first type of bond is called a Series EE bond, which gains interest for 30 years. The other type is called a Series HH bond and it can be bought the same way but the major difference is that it doesn’t gain interest like the EE bonds and it is worth about the same amount paid.

What does a bond look like?

A bond is a piece of paper, like a dollar bill and similarly, it has a face on it. For instance, the $50 savings bond actually has Helen Keller’s face on it. The $100 bond has Martin Luther King Jr. on it, Chief Joseph is on the $200 bond, and Marian Anderson is on the $5,000 bond.

Why do people buy bonds?

People buy bonds as a type of insurance. Many times, people don’t want to – or can’t – open a savings account but they don’t want to go walking around with a large amount of money so they purchase a bond that’s equal to the amount of money they have. Savings bonds are also often given as gifts to children on special occasions like birth, graduation, and so on, so that as the child grows, so will the value of the bond.

Where can I buy a bond?

People buy bonds at the place where most deals involving money take place: the bank. You can simply go into a bank, tell them you want to buy a bond, and they will sell one to you.

Who can own bonds?

Who owns a bond depends entirely on the people buying the bond. They can register it in their own name or they can register it in another person’s name by designating them as a “beneficiary.”

How much money can I get for my bond?

This depends on the type of bond. With some, you get the face amount – $50, $100, or $200. For bonds that gain interest, you get the amount the bill is worth plus the amount of interest obtained in the number of years it was owned.

How can I get money for my bond?

You can go into a bank and simply redeem it. You can use your personal bank, a credit union, or even the Federal Reserve Bank.

Where can I find out more about savings bonds?

• Introduction to Saving Bonds: Provides an overview of savings bonds.
• Saving Bonds: Discusses bonds and why they are good for kids.
• Savings Bonds Types: SEC page that explains the different types of savings bonds.

MONEY MATHEMATICS

Saving money is very important. Saving money ensures that later on, when you really need it for something, you have it. There are lots of ways for kids to earn money before they get a real job. They can do chores for their parents, sell lemonade or even do things like yard work for other people. Once you have money, consider carefully what you spend it on, because once you spend it, it’s gone.

• Money Math Lessons: Some lessons teaching kids how to do “money math.”
• US Treasury for Kids: A list of links to government money sites for children.
• Money and Life for Kids: Outlines how money affects daily life.
• Kids and Money: A good section on money for parents and kids.

FUN WITH MONEY

One of the easiest and best ways to teach kids about money is to do it by playing games. Teaching kids to count money by playing addition games is far more interesting than just setting out coins and telling them to count. Here are links to games and ideas that make teaching kids about money a fun activity.

• Government Money Sites for Kids: Some links to government sites with trivia questions about money.
• Kid’s Money Link Page: Provides links to multiple pages with ideas about teaching kids about money.
• Pocket Change for Kids: An interactive game that teaches kids about counting money.

If you’re looking for a safe, easy way to start investing, U.S. Savings Bonds are the way to go. You can invest as little as $25 to start or top off at purchasing $30,000 worth of Savings Bonds per year. It is a great way to save, as Savings Bonds are free from all state and local income taxes and federal income taxes can be deferred if you wait until they reach final maturity before cashing them in.

U.S. Savings Bonds are non-marketable securities fully backed by the US government; therefore they will never lose their principle or interest due to fluctuating financial markets. Buy one for $50 it will never be worth less than $50. They are also a registered security meaning the person named on the bond owns them and they cannot be resold, only redeemed through a US Treasury designated agent.  

There are two types of U.S. Savings Bonds available, the Series I and Series EE. They are categorized by the way in which they pay interest. 

Series I bonds are inflation indexed. These bonds were created to protect the bond owner/investor from inflation. The interest rates are announced every May 1 and November 1^st. Effective November 1^st, 2009, Series I bonds will earn an annual rate of 3.36%. These bonds can be purchased in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000 and $5,000. 

I Bonds earn interest from the first day of the month they are issued and increase in value monthly, the interest is paid when redeemed. You can redeem them only after the 12 month holding period and can hold them up to 30 years. 

Series EE bonds are low-risk and government-backed. You can use these bonds for financing education, supplemental retirement income, as gifts and other special events. The minimum purchase bond is $50 and they are purchased at half their face value. Buy one for $100 and it is worth $200. The EE Savings Bonds can be purchased in denominations of $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 only. The maximum purchase per year is $10,000 in paper bonds each year.

As with the Series I, the Series EE can mature and earn interest for up to 30 years. Series EE bonds have different rules depending upon when they were issued. For example, those bonds issued on or after May 1, 2005 will earn a fixed interest rate for 20 years at which time the bond will reach its face value. EE Bonds increase in value every month. Interest is compounded semiannually.

There are pros and cons to investing in Savings Bonds. Yes, they are a secured investment which cost you no state or local taxes but figuring maturity, interest rates, a bond’s current value and when to cash them in can be confusing. It is estimated that Americans forfeit $150 million annually by cashing in bonds at the wrong time. Savingsbond.gov offers a calculator that allows you to calculate the value of your paper Savings Bonds.

To purchase Bonds you can go to one of any of the 40,000 financial institutions that offer them. Your local bank probably does. Another alternative is purchasing them online with a credit card at TreasuryDirect.gov. 

Regardless of your reason for purchasing Savings Bonds it is a safe and profitable way to get started investing or to add to your established investment portfolio. For additional resources on U.S. Savings Bonds refer to the following sites:

• Savingsbonds.gov: A guide to savings bonds
• Sec.gov: Savings bonds types
• GSA.gov: About savings bonds
• Ustreas.gov: Introduction to savings bonds
• Investopedia.com: Series EE Bonds
• ibonds.info: What are I Bonds?
• ManagePersonalFinance.com: The pros and cons of bonds
• Kiplinger.com: How to buy savings bonds
• Savings-bond-advisor.com: How Series EE savings bond interest rates work
• SavingsBonds.com: Basic information about savings bonds

Savings Bond History

United States savings bonds were first issued in 1941, and the first bond sold was to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bonds were initiated to fund World War I, and the United States government appealed to the citizens’ patriotism to help sell the bonds. At that time the sale of the bonds was the responsibility of the War Finance Committee, and by the time the initiative was over, 85 million Americans had invested in U.S. savings bonds. These drives continued throughout World War I and World War II, and they became a very important fund source for the government at that time. The sale of war bonds had been tried, with less success, during the Civil War. At that time, it was wealthier investors who bought these certificates, and often they did not earn even what they had put into the bond. Secretary of Treasury, Henry F. Morgenthau, Jr., learned from this example, and he enticed buyers not only with patriotism, but also with a return on their investment. He believed that if a person could purchase a bond for a certain amount of money, and be promised more money if he holds onto the bond for 10 years, then said person would be willing to purchase such a bond. Indeed, this worked, and the very successful War Drives beginning in World War I began. Since then, the United States bond has become an effective way for an individual, or child, or family, to save for the future with minimal risk. With the high-risk, high-yield world of investing, however, savings bonds have been a less common method of saving over the past decade. The savings bond, however, continues to be a positive method for saving, and many parents and grandparents give them as gifts to children and teens to encourage putting money away for college or aother particular reason at a future date.

• Brief History of World War Two Advertising Campaigns War Loans and Bonds
• A History of Bonds to 1942
• Francis Henry Fries, 1855-1931. History of War Savings Campaign of 1918
• Reinventing Savings Bonds

Types of Bonds

There are several types of bonds that are available for purchase today. The two United States savings bonds that are still available are series EE and series HH.

The EE Bond

The EE bond can be bought for half the face value of the bond, and the bond matures in 12 years to yield the entire value of the bond.

Series HH Bonds

Series HH bonds are referred to as “current income securities.” These bonds are exchanged for series E or series EE bonds, and the amount must total $500 or more. Interest on HH bonds is paid twice yearly through electronics fund transfer from the U.S. Treasury to an individual’s bank.

Muni Bonds and Corporate Bonds

In addition to United States Treasury bonds, there are other bonds available to the consumer. Cities, or municipalities, to raise funds for particular building projects, sell muni bonds. Though these bonds are exempt from state and federal income tax, they do incur a somewhat higher risk due to the fragile financial nature of some municipalities. Companies to raise money for that particular company sell corporate bonds. Interest on corporate bonds is taxable, but sometimes these can yield a higher return, in less amount of time, than a U.S. Treasury bond or muni bond.

• U.S. Savings Bonds: Q&A (04-15-93)
• Bonds
• NuUnion Credit Union: Savings Bonds
• U. S. Savings Bonds
• Savings Bonds

Bonds for Kids

Savings bonds can be an excellent resource for college funding. Many grandparents and parents will buy children bonds, expecting that the bond will mature in time for college. There are many programs that encourage kids and young teens to begin saving by using bonds. Because there is a low risk, and because the bonds cannot be cashed in until they mature, it is an excellent savings tool for those who may be apt to withdraw money from savings in a pinch.

• 401Kidz
• Savings Accounts , CDs, and Bonds for Children: Make Money With Money!
• FinAid | Saving for College | Savings Bonds

Why Buy Bonds?

Low risk is one of the biggest advantages to buying savings bonds rather than investing money in another type of venture. There is little, or no risk of default, as the bond is funded by the federal government.  They are easily cashed in at most banks and at treasury offices. The interest that is made on U.S. savings bonds is non-taxable, and, furthermore, the bonds are free of tax when cashed in if used for college for a child. Another advantage is that they loan the government money; it is an act of patriotism, especially when bonds are bought in a time of need for the government. For many people, U.S. savings bonds are simply the best option all the way around.

• Your Money; Some Advantages In Savings Bonds – NYTimes.com
• Savings: Some investors still bonding with savings bonds
• Series I Savings Bonds vs the stock market: US Savings Bonds
• The Advantages Of Bonds

Determining Bond Worth

There are a couple of different ways to calculate what a holder’s bond is worth. The easiest tool, however, is a bond calculator, available free, online from the United States Treasury Department. There are charts available, along with values tables and earnings reports to give the holder a general idea of the worth of his bonds as well. The most commonly held bond, the U.S. series EE bond, reaches its maturity in 30 years at the present time. This rate of maturity does change through the years, and the finances of the nation affect it at the given time, and it is affected by when the holder had purchased the bond. When the purchaser goes into the bank to cash in the bond, the teller will generally use the Treasury Department’s web site to determine the value of the bond, and they will give the holder that amount of money in exchange for the bond. The holder signs the bond and accepts responsibility for the taxes on the bond at that time. There are exceptions, however, such as using the bond for college if the holder falls into a particular tax bracket.

• Individual – Savings Bond Calculator
• New Interest Calculations for Savings Bonds: NPR
• Blue Collar Dollar – Savings Bonds
• US Savings Bond Interest, IRS and Tax
• Savings Bonds and maturity FAQ

Additional Information

• Buying US Savings Bonds: This site offers information on the purchase of savings bonds. It advises where to buy them, and the advantages of purchasing savings bonds.
• US Savings Bonds Advisor: This site offers information on everything one may want to know about United States savings bonds. There are updated articles on savings bonds, a bond calculator, and advice on buying bonds.
• Savings Bonds: Offers the college student reasons to invest in savings bonds, and discusses the financial impact of such.
• Red, White, and Blue Savings Bonds: Discusses the I bond, another bond offered by the United States government. It discusses taxes, advantages, penalties, and older bonds as well.

It used to be only the wealthy could afford to invest in the stock market. Not anymore. Thanks to a troubled economy numerous stocks plummeted to an all-time low opening the door to many whom otherwise would not be able to take the plunge.

Whether you are a novice investor or a veteran do your homework before putting out your cash. Become familiar with stock market and investment terminology, market trends, what other investors are saying—and doing,—the various American and foreign stock exchanges, how the economy effects the investment world and available investment assistance for small businesses. Here are some resources to get you started.

Investment Research

• Stansberry & Associates: conducts independent investment research, particularly in the areas of strategy, insider trading and short-selling and options trading.
• Schaeffers Research: helps traders make informed choices and money-making investments.
• The Center for Investment Research: set up to assist individuals and corporations with their stock market investments.
• Finance and Investment Research: studies and reports from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
• EDGAR Database: government listing of all filings, forms, and reports of public companies.
• Fortune: money and business magazine that regularly ranks the top 500 public companies in the nation.

Securities Charting

• MorganStanley SmithBarney: features interactive stock and securities charting that allows users to follow pricing, market changes and “volume quotes.”
• The Securities Research Company: offers a variety of tools for charting stocks and securities, such as books and online visuals.
• Stock Charting: Research and charts available from the Wall Street Journal.
• Quote.com: trusted source for charts, quotes, and news.

Newsgroups for Investors

• InvestFAQ Newsgroups: List of charters for different investment newsgroups.
• Investment Clubs & Newsgroups: Grouping of popular investing newsgroups.
• Financial Advice Investment Money: explains the importance of newsgroups when it comes to investing. It also provides links to some of the more popular and reliable groups.
• AllStocks: bulletin board is recommended for all levels of investors.

Economic Sources

• Maag Library Finance Investing Guide: showcases investing and stock reference resources.
• Smart Money: investment magazine that details the economic benefits of investing in foreign markets.
• Statistics on Banking: great compilation of statistics from FDIC.
• Resources for Economists: journal that offersa variety of economics articles for scholars.
• Internet Resources for Economists: list of valuable resources from SUNY Oswego.
• Economics Resources: journals and links on economics from the Library of Congress.

Small Business Assistance

• The National Association of Small Business Investment Companies offers small companies the financial means to invest.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency makes venture capital available to small businesses.
• The Oversees Private Investment Corporation assists small businesses who want to invest in the international marketplace.
• Small Business Development Center: financial management for small businesses.
• Information for Small Businesses: government regulations on small companies from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Exchanges

• Stock Exchanges: provides worldwide links and access to stock exchanges in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America. Exchange sites feature updated information on daily trading activity and the latest in trading news.
• Stock and Commodity Exchanges: listing of exchanges around the world.
• Wall-Street: features information on worldwide stock brokers and exchanges. The site also displays World and Pacific market updates.
• NASDAQ: (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) showcases information, such as stock quotes and activity, for the nation’s second biggest stock exchange.
• NYSE: This is home to the New York State Stock Exchange, the country’s largest stock exchange.

Miscellaneous

• Stock Market Resources: list of links related to understanding the stock market.
• Understanding Stocks and the Stock Market: helpful guide on stock classification, stock tables, and regulation.
• Learn the Stock Market: guide to understanding the stock market and how shares are traded.

Whether or not the economy is strong or weak, consumers need to be smart when handling their personal finances. A smart plan on saving money can help consumers that have tight finances, and can also allow consumers that ability to afford extras such as trips, new cars, furniture, appliances and personal luxury items.

As consumers we may not have control over the global economy, gas and oil prices, unemployment rates and interest rates, but we do have some control over our financial lives. Some of the measures that consumers can take include controlling your budget, being a smart shopper for loans and being on a dedicated savings plan for long term goals such as college and retirement.

Budgeting

One of the best ways to get control of your finances is through proper budgeting of income and expenses. To get control you need to gather information on income and expense and put yourself on a budget.

The first step would be to determine how much income you have on a monthly basis. When calculating income, you need to consider only income that is regularly received. Calculate regular payroll income and any other income you regularly receive. Don’t add in other sources such as gifts, lottery winnings and other non-regular sources. Once you have you have all of your sources, this is the amount of money you have available to spend on bills and expenses for the month.

The next step is to determine what you are spending every month. These expenses would include mortgage or rent, car payments, utility bills, credit card bills, gas expenses, student loans and cell phone bills. In addition, you need to determine that amount of food that you need to purchase each month, amount of miscellaneous expenses each month, such as gifts, going out for coffee daily and so on. Also, make sure you have a category for entertainment expenses such as going to movies, concerts, books and other similar costs.

Once you have calculated your monthly expenses, subtract it from the income to determine what – if any – is left over. This figure is what you should be saving. If this figure is zero or a negative number, you need to re-visit the expenses and see what if any can be cut out or reduced.

• Personal Spending Plans
• Personal Budgeting
• Real Life Budgeting
• Budgeting Resources
• Budget Information

Shopping For Loans

All loans and all lenders are not equal. The interest that you pay at one lender for a loan may be different than another lender for the same loan. So, it pays to shop around for the best rates that you can get. A savings of even .25% on a loan can save hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of the loan depending on type of loan, term of loan and amount of the loan.

Another key factor when shopping for rates is the fact that many lenders use risk based pricing. This means that a borrower with a good credit standing (credit score) will have a lower rate of interest than a borrower with a bad credit standing (credit score). This can have an impact on the amount of interest that is paid on a loan, with the possibility of saving thousands of dollars by having a better credit score. So, it is important to get and keep a good credit standing. If you have had problems in the past with credit, by paying on time and keeping everything up to date, you can re-build your credit.

• Shopping for a Loan
• Loan Shopping Tips
• Looking for the Best Mortgage
• Free Credit Reports
• Building a Better Credit Report
• Your Credit Scores

The Importance of Saving

Everyone needs to save money for one reason or another. It may be for short term savings goals such as a vacation, new video game system or purchasing personal items that are out of our normal budget. Other goals are longer term goals, which can include purchasing a new car, new house, saving for college or even saving for your retirement.

Whatever your goals are, it is important to set up a dedicated savings routine. There are several ways to accomplish this, but one of the easiest is to incorporate saving into your monthly budget. First determine how much you need to save and when it is needed. For example, if you need to save $1,000 for a vacation that is 6 months from now, simply dividing the amount you need by the number of month you have to save will give you the answer of what you need to save each month, or in this example you would need to save $167 per month.

To build this savings into your budget you need to find where in the budget that money is coming from. For example, if you can spend less on entertainment or miscellaneous, this money can be used for your savings goal. Most of the time, simply by reducing or eliminating non-essential expenses, can give you the money that you need to save. Just cutting back on the morning coffee or bringing lunches instead of buying can give you money that can be used elsewhere.

• 66 Ways to Save Money
• Save Money at Home
• My Money.gov
• Saving For Retirement
• Saving Money For College

Take control of your personal finances by using some of the methods described above. Regardless of the economy, by following some of these common sense rules you should be able to meet your financial goals.

The study of coins, and the collecting of coins, is as old as money itself. Some people collect coins for their elegance, beauty, creativity, or rarity, while others collect misprints, ancient coins, or coins based solely on their value. Whatever the collector type, and whatever the coin, numismatists the world over dedicate themselves to the study of coins and currency and many even spend great amounts of money on special coins they wish to add the their collections.

General Coin Collecting Resources

• World Coin Collection: Information on the coin of Trajan Decius.

• Schwert’s Hobby Sites — Coin Collecting:  A resource compiling different coin collecting auctions, dealers, and grading systems of coin collecting.

• The Coin Page:  Information on different coins, information on how to collect change at face value, and keeping the rest.

• Suggested Numismatic References:   A guide to help find old coins, paper money, and other money related objects.

• Award-Winning Coins:  View a selection of some of the most innovative and creative coins in history.

History of Coin Collecting

• The History of the University Library’s Numismatic Collection:  Information on the historic artifacts, old coins, and paper money.

• The Coins of Colonial and Early America:  Information and images of different coins and tokens used in Colonial and Confederation America established in the Department of Special Collections.

• The Collection:  Images and database of ancient coins from the Ottilia Buerger Collection.

• Chinese Coins:  Information on the history of Chinese coins with images

• Medieval Livonian Numismatics:   The history of coins in the medieval times.

Types of Collectors

• David Bowers:  Information on David Bowers collection of Professional Coin grading services.

• The Uncleaned Ancient Coin Dealers Code of Ethics:  Learn about the coin dealers and collectors code of ethics.

• French and English Dealers (and often ancients):  A resource guide of Freanch and English coin collector dealers.

• Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins: A website helping teachers and students learn more about ancient Roman coins.

• Coin Hoards:  Information from a hoarder’s collection of coins.

Collection Themes

• 7 Popular Coin Collecting Themes:  Information on 7 different types of coin collecting themes.

• Euro Coins Collection:  An informative website about Euro coins and different themes.

Coin Condition and Values

• The Comparative Value of Money between Britain and the Colonies:   Information on the how the value of money was determined between Britain and the Colonies.

• Coins and Tokens of Value:   Learn the nominal value of gold, silver, and copper coins.

• How do Coins Survive:   Information on how coins hold their value throughout time.

• Coins, Medals, and Seals, Ancient and Modern: Values, illustrations, and sketch history of different coins and medals.

• Ancient Greek Silver Coin:  Information and value of an ancient Greek silver coin called a Dekadracm from 400 B.C.E.

Coin Grading

• Acronyms Used in Coin Collecting:  A list made to cover the acronyms that are used in collecting coins.

• Mark’s Hobbies:  A price guide from a professional coin grader.

• Professional Coin Grading Services:  An instructional guide on how and why to have coins graded.

• Best Coin:  A guide to grading different coins.

• Grading Guide for Coins:  An informational guide in grading coins.

Dealers

• Kass Evans’ Ancient Coins Page:  Information on coin and antique dealers.

• Price Guides and Specialty Dealers:  Resources to US coin price guides and coins for sale.

• Coin Site Directory:  A resource of ancient coin dealers carrying ancient Roman and Byzantine coins.

Ancient Coins

• The Production of an Ancient Coin:  The description of how ancient coins were made.

• Spain and It’s Coins:   Learn about ancient coins from Spain.

• The Dating of the Coinage of Alexander the Great:  Information on Alexander the Great and his coins from Greece.

Miscellaneous Coin Collecting Pages

• What are East Asian Cash Coins:  Information on collecting East Asian coins.

• Coins and Medals of Imperial Russia:  A collection of coins and currency from Peter I, “the Great”.

• The American Civil War:   Information on confederate money during the Civil War.

A wide range of business and economic information is available online. Business owners, investors, and individuals interested in business and economics can find breaking news, advice and analysis online.

Several comprehensive sites are online that offer information about business, banking and finance include:

• The Federal Reserve:  provides banking information, monetary policy, and federal regulations and agreements.
• NYSE:  the New York Stock Exchange is the world leader in stock trading information
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation:  offers alerts, advice, news and banking information.
• Investopedia:  provides how-to guides, portfolio simulators, and articles.
• Business.gov:  has tools and advice provided by the federal government.
• Small Business Administration: provides guides and assistance for small business.

For news and analysis from the academic world, several of the country’s top business schools provide information:

• Booth School of Business
• Kellogg School of Management
• Harvard Business School
• The Wharton School of Business

Guides to managing the advertising of a business are available online from Advertising Age, a leader in advertising information including news and trends, and nonprofit groups like the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and the International Advertising Association.

Accounting and tax information can be found at the Internet Public Library, which offers annual reports, accounting standards, and other resources for accounting news and information. The Internal Revenue Service provides links to tax and accounting guides, news and information for individuals as well as small businesses. The International Trade Administration and the United States International Trade Commission also provide useful information.

Many resources offer information and advice about the world of E-commerce including:

• The E-Commerce Times
• E-Commerce.com
• E-Commerce-Guide.com

Sites that provide news and analysis in financial and business world include:

• American Banker
• Bizjournals
• CNN Money
• Financial Times
• Wall Street Journal Online
• Bloomberg

The world of economics, business and finance can be very complex. Hopefully, these resources will help provide guidance to visitors.