video shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjjAz_CZmyM&feature=related

The theory of printing currency

Currency printing, the volume and denomination of the notes printed is overlooked by the government of any country. The quantity of currency to be printed depends upon the requirement of the central bank of that country. Uncontrolled printing of currency notes can lead to excessive money in the domestic market which leads to rapid rise in demand for products, goods and services, This will in turn lead to scarcity of goods in the market due to scarcity of supply and hence increase in their prices, forcing the consumers to buy the same good at a much higher price. The economical term for this situation is called Hyperinflation. As defined in economics The main cause of hyperinflation is a massive and rapid increase in the amount of money that is not supported by a corresponding growth in the output of goods and services. This results in an imbalance between the supply and demand for the money (including currency and bank deposits), accompanied by a complete loss of confidence in the money.

In recent past the world has seen a huge inflation in Zimbabwe which ultimately led to the collapse of their national currency- The Zimbabwean Dollar. The inflation in the country was so high that to buy an egg in Zimbabwe you need to have 50 billion ZWL. The exchange rate was pegged at 7 million ZWL to one US dollar. After a considerable effort by the financial system of the country to manage the crisis failed they were forced to adopt foreign currency for domestic trades. Zimbabwe now uses US dollar, Euro and South African Rand for transactions. This hyperinflation has been caused primarily by a serious mistake done by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's choice to mushroom the money supply.

Similar incidents occurred in the past as well. In 1920s Germany experienced such a high inflation rate that the value less bank notes were found scattered around in streets and were literally used as wall papers. Similar incidents happened during world war 2 in Greece when its currency drachma experienced such high inflation that the prices of goods in the country doubled in every 24 hours.

Bretton Woods System was established which made it obligatory for each member country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the exchange rate of its currency within a fixed value—plus or minus one percent—in terms of gold. Bancor was proposed as a world currency unit, however U.S. dollar took over the role that gold had played under the gold standard system. The Bretton woods system was dissolved in 1971. IMF(International Monetary Fund) now oversees global financial system and stabilizes exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the world's international payment system.

Seven Questions

CNBC suggests that before jumping into investments from the latest tip, you should carefully consider some facts. The seven questions listed below separate news from noise, and will help you to make good investment decisions.

1.How does the company make money?

2.Where is the company’s growth coming from?

3.Who are the customers?

4.Who is the competition?

5.What do the suppliers and vendors say about the company?

6.Who is running the company?

7.How promising is the overall economic environment?

a proper market research is always helpful to look at the bigger picture. And if you are considering a big investment, its always a must.

Penny Stocks

Stocks which are trading at a value less than $5 are generally considered as penny stocks. Many new investors are lured to the appeal of a penny stock due to the low price and perceived potential of rapid growth. But many fall into the trap of pump and dump schemes and lose a huge amount of their savings. These are few wise suggestions you should consider before you invest in your first penny stock

1. Look at companies with market cap of less than $500 million

2. Better avoid bulletin board and pink sheets. Look at stocks traded in major exchanges

3. Very thinly traded stocks should be avoided

4. Look at the fundamental value when driving your decisions

5. keep it low. never more than 10% to 12 % of your total portfolio.

Happy investing!

Follow the Rules

The world of investing is fascinating and complex, and it can be very fruitful. But unlike the banking world, where deposits are guaranteed by the federal government, stocks, bonds and other securities can lose value. There are no guarantees. That's why investing is not a spectator sport. By far the best way for investors to protect the money they put into the securities markets is to do research and ask questions.

The laws and rules that govern the securities industry in the United States derive from a simple and straightforward concept: all investors, whether large institutions or private individuals, should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior to buying it, and so long as they hold it. To achieve this, the SEC requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public. This provides a common pool of knowledge for all investors to use to judge for themselves whether to buy, sell, or hold a particular security. Only through the steady flow of timely, comprehensive, and accurate information can people make sound investment decisions.

The SEC oversees the key participants in the securities world, including securities exchanges, securities brokers and dealers, investment advisors, and mutual funds. Here the SEC is concerned primarily with promoting the disclosure of important market-related information, maintaining fair dealing, and protecting against fraud.

Crucial to the SEC's effectiveness in each of these areas is its enforcement authority. Each year the SEC brings hundreds of civil enforcement actions against individuals and companies for violation of the securities laws. Typical infractions include insider trading, accounting fraud, and providing false or misleading information about securities and the companies that issue them.

Okay, now what if I dont follow the rules? the answer is simple you land up where a good chunk of top financial managers are - US State Prison, no kidding, SEC is a tough cop. If you really want to taste its power and what insider trading can lead to watch the 1987, michael douglas starrer movie "Wall Street". That will give you a good view of what regulations are exactly.

Complex questions for a simple internship

I have been applying for summer internships lately. I applied to a number of Finance and investment companies. Here are some of the questions that I came across and my answers to them. I just hope that the effort pays :)

Q. What attributes best describes you and how have you used them in the past to achieve

I have a passion to work and a zeal to gather knowledge at work and employing them effectively. I have worked in various positions and roles- Software Developer, Recruitment and Lateral Sourcing associate, Web Designer, Technical Support associate in my previous jobs. I joined the business school to have better understanding of the dos and donts of the business world, and to enhance my management and analytical skills which are very necessary to carry to project in any business environment. I love speaking and communicating with people. I believe knowledge transfer happens through active interaction. I consider myself as a good Team-Player, I motivate people all around me for putting in their best effort for growth and success of the team. I have strong analytical and problem solving abilities and believe in result oriented approach in managing projects and assignments entrusted to me.

Q. Last 12 months where mention where have made or saved money

I believe proper investment decisions at right time can definitely lead to profit maximization and a healthy future planning. Correct timing and accurate analysis before investing in any venture is the most crucial part. If calculations and foresight meet together they can create a synergy which will lead to optimized profit. I believe my investment in higher education is one of the best plans that I have made. I took a break from my career and joined a business school to enhance my business skills. These years at university are an investment to me. Talking in accounting terms, during the application phase a student ( or his parents !) spends a lot of money for the career advisors, counsellors, agents helping to find a suitable university, coaching institutes preparing for tests etc. But I decided to do everything on my own. During the application process i found that European Universities have less exposure to foreign students when compared with US universities. So finding info about them takes time and hardwork.I researched a lot, talked with professors, student coordinator at universities over email, made rounds at several education fairs etc. I did self study for the test and undergone the application process all by myself, thus saving quite a good amount of money. And I didnt stop there, I helped atleast a dozen of my friends to apply, guiding them thru the entire process, thereby saving their money aswell. I believe in today's world information is all that matters. The more the information that you have, the better you gain.

Q. Mention a big challenge that you have faced

I have completed my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. However, I decided to take up a job in the software industry, due to the fact that I liked the IT industry and it is a booming and growing sector in my country. But the liking for an industry and fitting into the job prolife easily is two different things. A very good understanding of the software development cycle was the prerequisite for the job, moreover the job required experience of working with programming languages to be demonstrated within the training period or stand ready to get fired. I practically covered a three year software engineering course in three months. At the end of which I not only survived the training period, I got numerous appreciations at my job at the same company last two years

Q.What/who motivates and inspires you?

Challenges, deadlines, assignments requiring turnaround solutions, are my motivation and it inspires me to give in my best. I believe working in such projects enhances my ability to think and offer innovative solutions, tests my skills and pushes me to perform better. Business leaders, CXOs and top managers face such challenges on a daily basis. I believe experience of numerous such projects will expose me to the complex business scenarios will imbibe in me the necessary qualities required to become a successful manager.

Q.What makes you a standout candidate in this market?

I have pursued by bachelors in technical field and worked in various positions in the technology industry. I joined the School of Business, The University of Gothenburg to merge my technical skills with business knowledge. Understanding the technology and the finance of any business will help me analyzing and providing better solutions as a manager for my clients. Also the fact that I have studied and worked in the developing economy of India and also observed and analyzed major European businesses while my graduate program in Sweden, has helped me in gathering a wider knowledge of best practices in different parts of the world. These experiences, I believe will definitely add to my skill set and allow me to take a very global approach in my career,

Q.What key skills does a successful candidate corporate financier/investment banker possess?

Ability to make quick and correct decisions is the order of the day for any investment banker or a corporate financial advisor. Managing a wide variety of customers with various levels of risk aversion and requirements and finding different solutions for each of them so as to optimize their profit is the main motive in this industry. Also, it is important that a corporate financer or investment banker should have strong sense of business ethics, should make sure that the regulations are followed and wise decisions are taken to preserve the loyalty of customers and industry.

Q.What attracts you to working in Corporate Finance/Investment Banking?

The world of business has always attracted me. Mathematics and calculations has been my forte since school days. Naturally I felt drawn to a career in finance, which I believe is full of energy and activity. Also, I am very good in working with people, interacting, understanding and managing people comes to me naturally. Both Corporate Finance and Investment Banking are positions which involve calculations, analysis as well as dealing with clients. As far as I remember I always wanted my workplace to be something like this.

Religious devotion to the dogma of finance

It all comes down to one thing: finding the best, fastest, and safest way to make money with money, then make some more money, with money on top.

But Gordon of Gekko Corp thinks otherwise, as for its making money in everyway possible, " Greed is good" thats what he says in the movie "Wall Street" (1987). A good watch for everyone and a must watch for the people from the financial world or just stepping into it, like me. Amazing performance by both Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, where Michael plays Gordon, the money greedy chief of the Gekko corp, who finally lands up in jail as SEC digs up his insider trading practices, and Charlie playing Bud, a young stockbrocker, just out of NYU, trying to make it big in the financial world, but falling in trap of shorcuts, easy buck and fast life.

The sequel titled "Wall Street: Money never sleeps" is in post production and is set to release this summer. Wait for it..

Role of CFO : Changing with time

The traditional work of the Finance department limited to purchasing and payables, sales and receivables, providing and managing accounting information is changing. With the growth of the new economy a CFO or a Financial Manager is required to think and act more like a VC within the company. Forward thinking CFOs are expected to develop new business model, leverage resource utilization, incorporating rolling plans, promoting innovation labs and other idea generators, incorporating technological advancements and highlighting the corporate strategy within the company. Phasing out long drawn time consuming budget measures and incorporating KPI is another important strategy being used by the CFOs. KPI or the Key Performance Indicators can be better aligned to the corporate strategy. Effective use of technology can also help the finance department reduce the overall expenditure and consolidating the information used different departments and divisions by installation of ERP systems. Investing in security of the company intranet and extranet is always a good investment. In cases of Mergers and Acquisitions either domestic or global, proper research and planning should be conducted by the finance department to check the viability and long term benefit of the project. Thus CFO or the entire finance department should work both with the management as well as the employees, assist the management and CEO to take effective decision by conduct research, surveys, and analysis to maintain and develop a financially strong company

Said Business School

Said Business School (prounced: saeed), Oxford University, hosts a programme which funds social entrepreneurs who are motivated to bring substantial changes in the society with the entrepreneurial venture. I was amazed to find so many of them are focussed on India. The first one was from Shashank Verma a Indian software engineer who left his career to pursue MBA at Oxford, where he described his case study on the development of bio fuel in India. His idea was accepted, funded and is now called Clean Star Energy, which has plantations across Maharashtra and is a growing organization. The second one was from Dhruv Lakra, who left his career of investment banking to work with fishermen folks in southern India to help them organize their business, and eventually went ahead to become a skoll scholar at Oxford. He is now the founder and CEO of Mirakle Couriers Ltd, a courier company based out of Mumbai which employs deaf people. His idea is to bring them into mainstream job and to prove that deaf people are actually capable of running an organization. The employees of Mirakle couriers use sign language to perform their everyday tasks. Men does the delivery work, and women does the official and administrative work. Apart from these two there were several ideas like starting and managing a fund which invests in the supply chain management to the farming system in India. A training academy for principals and senior teachers at the rural government run primary schools, so that they can learn and employ the best practices in their school which educates the future of the nation. These are some of the brilliant ideas from the graduate students of Oxford, and this is what the country exactly needs from its young minds.

Indian tech companies focus more on training

The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business hosted the India Economic Forum in 2009 to discuss where India is headed in the times of the economic uncertainty. Held at Philadelphia, the program attracted a number of Indian leaders, CEOs, investors, heads of non profit organizations, sport persons and bollywood celebrities. The program denoted the stong impact of the country in the era of globalization and need of the world to acknowledge the fact. Vivek Wadhwa, former silicon valley enterpreneur and now a professor and researcher at the Wharton, stressed that its time US should start actually learning from India. The guru should start learning from the disciple. His remark was based on his conclusion from research about the innovation of management of the Indian tech companies. According to him, The fact that they spent a huge amount of money and time in training their employees is the fact that sets them apart. Its a mandate in the premier tech companies in India to undergo a fixed hours of training at all levels every year, and these initiatiatives are directly linked with the year end performance appraisals. The Indian companies' huge focus on training and career development within the the existing workforce, is what sets them apart from the rest.

This is also true with the tech startups in the silicon valley which according to his research in 2005, 25 % of all start ups were by immigrants of which Indians were by far the largest . It contributed to 52 billion in yearly profits and generated jobs for 450,000 Americans. Focus on education, training, personal development, innovation and research within the company and investing in the people is the USP and the value proposition at the end of the day for the Indian entrepreneurs.