Economy of Pakistan

Pakistan is a nation with a diverse economy that include textiles, chemicals, food processing, agriculture and other industries. It is the 25th largest economy in the world.The economy has suffered in the past from decades of internal political disputes, a fast growing population, mixed levels of foreign investment, and a costly, ongoing confrontation with neighboring India. However, IMF-approved government policies, bolstered by foreign investment and renewed access to global markets, have generated solid macroeconomic recovery the last decade. Substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000, most notably at privatizing the banking sector have helped the economy. Pakistan has seen a growing middle class population since then and poverty levels have decreased by 10% since 2001.GDP growth, spurred by gains in the industrial and service sectors, remained in the 6-8% range in 2004-06. In 2005, the World Bank named Pakistan the top reformer in its region and in the top 10 reformers globally. [1]Islamabad has steadily raised development spending in recent years, including a 52% real increase in the budget allocation for development in FY07, a necessary step toward reversing the broad underdevelopment of its social sector. The fiscal deficit - the result of chronically low tax collection and increased spending, including reconstruction costs from the devastating Kashmir earthquake in 2005 was manageable. Development in urban areas of Pakistan has remained high but is low in rural areas.Inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy, jumping to more than 9% in 2005 before easing to 7.9% in 2006. In 2008, following the surge in global petrol prices inflation in Pakistan has reached as high as 25.0%. The central bank is pursuing tighter monetary policy while trying to preserve growth. Foreign exchange reserves are bolstered by steady worker remittances, but a growing current account deficit - driven by a widening trade gap as import growth outstrips export expansion - could draw down reserves and dampen GDP growth in the medium term.[2]Since the beginning of 2008, Pakistan's economic outlook has taken a dramatic downturn. Security concerns stemming from the nation's role in the War on Terror have created great instability and led to a decline in FDI from a height of approximately $8 bn to $3.5bn for the current fiscal year. Concurrently, the insurgency has forced massive capital flight from Pakistan to the Gulf. Combined with high global commodity prices, the dual impact has shocked Pakistan's economy, with gaping trade deficits, high inflation and a crash in the value of the Rupee, which has fallen from 60-1 USD to over 80-1 USD in a few months. For the first time in years, it may have to seek external funding as Balance of Payments support. Consequently, S&P lowered Pakistan’s foreign currency debt rating to CCC-plus from B, just several notches above a level that would indicate default. Pakistan’s local currency debt rating was lowered to B-minus from BB-minus. Credit agency Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook on Pakistan’s debt to negative from stable due to political uncertainty, though it maintained the country’s rating at B2.The cost of protection against a default in Pakistan’s sovereign debt trades at 1,800 basis points, according to its five year credit default swap, a level that indicates investors believe the country is already in or will soon be in default.The middle term however may be less turbulent, depending on the political environment. The EIU estimates that inflation should drop back to single digits in 2010, and that growth should pick up to over 5% per annum by 2011. Although less then the previous 5 year average of 7%, it would represent a overcoming of the present crisis wherein growth is a mere 3.5-4%. [3]

About Karachi Stock Exchange

VISION

To be a leading financial institution, offering efficient, fair and transparent securities market in the region and enjoying full confidence of the investors.

MISSION

To strive to provide quality and value-added services to the capital market in an efficient, transparent and orderly manner, compatible with international standards and best practices.To provide state-of-the-art technology and automated trading operations, driven by a team of professionals in accordance with good corporate governance.To protect and safeguard the interests of all its stakeholders, i.e. members, listed companies, employees and the investors at large.To reflect the country’s economic health and behavior and play its role for the growth, development and prosperity of Pakistan.
KSE POSITIONED TO BE A HUB OF CAPITAL FORMATION IN THE REGIONSouth Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE)Vice Chairmanship of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges Member Federation of Euro-Asian Exchanges (FEAS)Affiliate Member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)Affiliate Member of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)Agreements with other Exchanges Dubai Financial Markets Abu Dhabi Securities Market Shanghai Stock ExchangeOUR FUTURE SUCCESS WILL DEPEND ON THE QUALITY OF OUR HUMAN RESOURCESA spirit of youthful energy, high intellect and superior skills characterizes our people.Our workforce consists of a combination of youth and experience – perfectly suitable to the organization’s current requirement and future challenges.KSE employs the best available human resource from the capital market and financial industry.Candidates are selected based on their individual energy, quick thinking ability, confidence, decision making ability, integrity and professionalism – attributes that define the person’s compatibility with KSE culture.The key to our long-term success is the creative genius of our people and their drive towards excellence.Our employees are exposed to an organizational commitment to continuous personal and professional development.Our people get involved in various initiatives ranging from management skills, development and personal improvement, to technology advancement and process enhancement.On a regular basis, some of our best performers are selected for our Mentoring Program, where seasoned mentors groom their portages towards positions of greater responsibility and influence.Promoting a performance driven culture where ‘high performers’ are recognized for their exceptional contributions.WE PLAY A KEY ROLE IN PAKISTAN’S ECONOMYThe KSE is one of Pakistan’s largest tax payer and in the fiscal year 2006- 2007 contributed over Rs. 4 billion towards the national exchequer.Listed Companies contribute over 10% of total revenue collected by the Government of Pakistan.KSE brokers on average pay more than 50% of their profit before tax as presumptive tax.Our investors pay 10% tax on dividends.
OUR CUSTOMERIssuers (Listed Companies)Brokers and MembersInvestorsOUR TECHNOLOGYOur Information Technology Group forms the Core of our Business OperationsDevelopment, implementation and monitoring of state-of-the-art trading system known as Karachi Automated Trading System (KATS), introduced in 2002 with a capacity of 1 million trades a day and unlimited number of users.Disaster Recovery Management and Business Continuity Programs database backups.Software Development, Testing and Training.Customer Services Support.Caters to member’s complaints regarding computer network and trading systems.Administration and Maintenance of servers and operating systems.Partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle and Unisys for I.T. infrastructure.

Lahore Stock Exchange

History

Lahore Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited came into existence in October 1970, under the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969, of the Government of Pakistan in response to the needs of the provincial metropolis of the province of Punjab. It initially had 83 members and was housed in a rented building in the crowded area of Bank Square in Lahore. The number listed companies has increased to 519 since its inceptopn.With 37 sectors of economy and 519 listed companies with total capital of Rs. 555.67 billion having market capitalization of around Rs. 3.64 trillion . LSE has 152 members of whom 81 are corporate 54 are individual members.LSE was first stock exchaneg of pakistan which used internet and currently 50% of its transactions are done on internet.Lahore Stock Exchange has opened branches in the industrial cities of Faisalabad and Sialkot for trading. The Sialkot branch is referred to as "Sialkot Trading Floor".LSE IndexLSE-25: The Lahore Stock Exchange Twenty Five company index also calculates the performance of stocks assuming that all rights issues and bonus share issues only increase the listed capital. In the case of bonuses or rights the prices of the shares are not adjusted as they are in the case of the LSETRI. However, the LSE25 assumes that dividends paid out by a component company are not reinvested. In summary, in the LSE25, no price adjustments are made when any component company issues cash dividends.The Lahore Stock Exchange Total Return Index calculates the performance of stocks assuming that all payouts are reinvested in the index on the ex-date. The LSETRI assumes that if a component company issues bonus shares or announces a rights issue it will increase the listed capital. Additionally, the LSETRI also assumes that all pay-outs by a component company are 100% reinvested in the index. Therefore, the LSETRI is adjusted against such payouts announced by any of index constituents on its ex-date allowing the index value to remain comparable over time.

Islamabad Stock Exchange

Islamabad Stock Exchange is one of the three stock exchanges of Pakistan and is located in the capital of Islamabad. It was incorporated on October 25, 1989 and it became fully operational on August 10, 1992. Islamabad Stock Exchange is centrally located in Anees Plaza, Fazal ul Haq Road, Islamabad. A new development project is underway to establish a new building for the exchange.At present there are 119 members out of which 93 are corporate bodies including commercial and investment banks, DFIs and brokerage houses. The other 26 Members are individual persons who are well educated, enterprising and progressive minded. The affairs of the Exchange are governed by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors consists of ten directors, of which five are elected member directors and four are non-member directors nominated by the SECP while the managing director by virtue of his office is the tenth director of the Board . In order to protect the interest of the investing public, an Investors Protection fund has been established by the Exchange.Since the inception of automated trading system (ISECTS), the trade volume has been multiplying day by day and the average daily turnover has now crossed the figure of 1 million shares. Now all the listed securities are traded through the ISECTS. The system of physical handling of shares and securities has been phased out and majority of the scrips are settled through Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited.At the moment there are 241 companies/securities listed on the Exchange with an aggregate capital of Rs. 389.512 billion. The market capitalization stood at Rs. 2,275.00 billion as on 04-04-2007 . The pace of listing has remained slow as the economy of the Country is under consistent pressure due to internal as well as external factors.In comparison with major financial markets around the World, the functioning of capital market in Pakistan is still very much in its infancy and lacks advanced technology. In this context efforts are being made to edited by khalid shah ciitThe Islamabad stock exchange is going to be shifted to its new home in a few year, as the new Islamabad Stock Exchange is currently under construction in the capital

Barometer of the economy

At the stock exchange, share prices rise and fall depending, largely, on market forces. Share prices tend to rise or remain stable when companies and the economy in general show signs of stability and growth. An economic recession, depression, or financial crisis could eventually lead to a stock market crash. Therefore the movement of share prices and in general of the stock indexes can be an indicator of the general trend in the economy.

Government capital-raising for development projects

Governments at various levels may decide to borrow money in order to finance infrastructure projects such as sewage and water treatment works or housing estates by selling another category of securities known as bonds. These bonds can be raised through the Stock Exchange whereby members of the public buy them, thus loaning money to the government. The issuance of such bonds can obviate the need to directly tax the citizens in order to finance development, although by securing such bonds with the full faith and credit of the government instead of with collateral, the result is that the government must tax the citizens or otherwise raise additional funds to make any regular coupon payments and refund the principal when the bonds mature.

Creating investment opportunities for small investors

As opposed to other businesses that require huge capital outlay, investing in shares is open to both the large and small stock investors because a person buys the number of shares they can afford. Therefore the Stock Exchange provides the opportunity for small investors to own shares of the same companies as large investors.

Corporate governance

By having a wide and varied scope of owners, companies generally tend to improve on their management standards and efficiency in order to satisfy the demands of these shareholders and the more stringent rules for public corporations imposed by public stock exchanges and the government. Consequently, it is alleged that public companies (companies that are owned by shareholders who are members of the general public and trade shares on public exchanges) tend to have better management records than privately-held companies (those companies where shares are not publicly traded, often owned by the company founders and/or their families and heirs, or otherwise by a small group of investors). However, some well-documented cases are known where it is alleged that there has been considerable slippage in corporate governance on the part of some public companies. The dot-com bubble in the early 2000s, and the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007-08, are classical examples of corporate mismanagement. Companies like Pets.com (2000), Enron Corporation (2001), One.Tel (2001), Sunbeam (2001), Webvan (2001), Adelphia (2002), MCI WorldCom (2002), Parmalat (2003), Fannie Mae (2008), Freddie Mac (2008), Lehman Brothers (2008), and Satyam Computer Services were among the most widely scrutinized by the media.

Facilitating company growth

Companies view acquisitions as an opportunity to expand product lines, increase distribution channels, hedge against volatility, increase its market share, or acquire other necessary business assets. A takeover bid or a merger agreement through the stock market is one of the simplest and most common ways for a company to grow by acquisition or fusion.
Redistribution of wealth
Stock exchanges do not exist to redistribute wealth. However, both casual and professional stock investors, through dividends and stock price increases that may result in capital gains, will share in the wealth of profitable businesses.

The role of stock exchanges

Stock exchanges have multiple roles in the economy, this may include the following:
[1]Raising capital for businessesThe Stock Exchange provide companies with the facility to raise capital for expansion through selling shares to the investing public.
[2]Mobilizing savings for investmentWhen people draw their savings and invest in shares, it leads to a more rational allocation of resources because funds, which could have been consumed, or kept in idle deposits with banks, are mobilized and redirected to promote business activity with benefits for several economic sectors such as agriculture, commerce and industry, resulting in stronger economic growth and higher productivity levels and firms.

The First Stock Exchanges

In 11th century France the courtiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. As these men also traded in debts, they could be called the first brokers.Some stories suggest that the origins of the term "bourse" come from the Latin bursa meaning a bag because, in 13th century Bruges, the sign of a purse (or perhaps three purses), hung on the front of the house where merchants met.House Ter Beurze in Bruges, Belgium.However, it is more likely that in the late 13th century commodity traders in Bruges gathered inside the house of a man called Van der Burse, and in 1309 they institutionalized this until now informal meeting and became the "Bruges Bourse". The idea spread quickly around Flanders and neighbouring counties and "Bourses" soon opened in Ghent and Amsterdam.In the middle of the 13th century, Venetian bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351, the Venetian Government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. There were people in Pisa, Verona, Genoa and Florence who also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city states ruled by a council of influential citizens, not by a duke.The Dutch later started joint stock companies, which let shareholders invest in business ventures and get a share of their profits—or losses. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued the first shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first company to issue stocks and bonds. In 1688, the trading of stocks began on a stock exchange in London.

Stock exchange

A stock exchange, securities exchange or (in Europe) bourse is a corporation or mutual organization which provides "trading" facilities for stock brokers and traders, to trade stocks and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for the issue and redemption of securities as well as other financial instruments and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. The securities traded on a stock exchange include: shares issued by companies, unit trusts and other pooled investment products and bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Usually there is a central location at least for recordkeeping, but trade is less and less linked to such a physical place, as modern markets are electronic networks, which gives them advantages of speed and cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is by members only. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is done in the secondary market. A stock exchange is often the most important component of a stock market. Supply and demand in stock markets is driven by various factors which, as in all free markets, affect the price of stocks (see stock valuation).There is usually no compulsion to issue stock via the stock exchange itself, nor must stock be subsequently traded on the exchange. Such trading is said to be off exchange or over-the-counter. This is the usual way that bonds are traded. Increasingly, stock exchanges are part of a global market for securities.

What Does Exchange Mean?

A marketplace in which securities, commodities, derivatives and other financial instruments are traded. The core function of an exchange - such as a stock exchange - is to ensure fair and orderly trading, as well as efficient dissemination of price information for any securities trading on that exchange. Exchanges give companies, governments and other groups a platform to sell securities to the investing public.An exchange may be a physical location where traders meet to conduct business or an electronic platform. May also be referred to as "share exchange" or "bourse" depending on geographical location. Investopedia explains ExchangeExchanges are located all around the globe, with some of the more famous ones being the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. More and more trading is being done on electronic exchanges as markets become more advanced and as the exchanges themselves are able to ensure fair trading without requiring all members to be on the same trading floor. Each exchange will have certain listing requirements for any company or group that wishes to offer securities for trading. Some exchanges are more rigid than others, but basic requirements for stock exchanges include regular financial reports and audited earnings reports.

Foreign Exchange for Business

CanadianForex offers excellent rates on foreign exchange for businesses. Whenever you make a purchase or sale which involves a foreign currency, CanadianForex can save you money through better exchange rates and low (or often no) fees. CanadianForex offers an easy and convenient system to view live rates, store your beneficiary details, lock in deals and view details of past transactions.Having access to dedicated analysts and dealers is out of the question for most small businesses. However, CanadianForex provides expert dealers to discuss your foreign exchange needs and to help formulate strategies to reduce your foreign exchange risk. The CanadianForex system is extremely transparent and allows you to view the interbank rate and the rate you will receive. There are no commissions or hidden fees

The Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd (BSE)

BSE is the oldest stock exchange in Asia with a rich heritage. Known as the "BSE", it was established as "The Native Share & Stock Brokers Association" in 1875. It was the first stock exchange in the country to obtain permanent recognition in 1956 from the Government of India under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.The Exchange's pivotal and pre-eminent role in the development of the Indian capital market is widely recognised and its index, SENSEX, is tracked worldwide. Formerly an Association of Persons (AOP), the Exchange is now a demutualised and corporatised entity incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, pursuant to the BSE (Corporatisation and Demutualisation) Scheme, 2005 notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).BSE provides an efficient and transparent market for trading in equities, debt instruments and derivatives, and the systems and processes of the Exchange are designed to safeguard market integrity and enhance transparency in operations.Trading SystemThe BSE has an automated screen based trading systems, which allow orders to be placed at a “pre-determined” or “best” price. The automated screen based trading system for BSE is known as the BOLT (BSE on Line Trading) systemThe online trading systems follow the principles of an order driven market which facilitates efficient input of orders and automatic matching, resulting in faster execution of orders in a transparent manner. The member-brokers enter orders for purchase or sale of securities from work stations connected to the exchange trading systems. Order matching is anonymous (i.e. the orders are matched by the exchange system) and the identity of the counterparty is not revealed.Orders are assigned a unique order number by the trading system (for a member broker, security and transaction type) and time-stamped on entry by the member broker by the trading system. The orders are processed for potential match. Pending orders are stored in different 'books' based on price-time priority in the following sequence:* Best Price* Within Price, by time priority.Price priority - of two orders entered into the system, the order with the best price gets the higher priority for trade matching.Time Priority - of two orders having the same price, the order entered earliest gets the higher priority for trade matching.Order Matching - The trading system sorts pending orders in price-time priority for order matching purposes by matching the best buy order and best sell order. Best buy order is the one with the highest price and the best sell order is the one with the lowest price (the system sorts buy orders from the seller point of view and vicé versa). Orders may match with more than one order resulting in multiple trades for an order.Member broker can place market orders (which will be matched with the best available order) or limit orders (wherein member can specify the price for the order) which will remain a part of order books until matching.Additionally, member brokers can place conditions at the time of order entry. These conditions are as under:* Time Conditions: These conditions, as the name suggests, can be classified as Day orders, Good till Cancelled, Good till Date order and Immediate or Cancel order.* Price conditions: This permits members to specify conditions to execute the trade at specified price or best price. Members can also place stop loss orders.* Quantity conditions: The member can disclose a part of the order quantity to the market. For example, an order for quantity 1000 at a limit price can specify a disclosed condition of quantity 200. This will ensure that only 200 quantity at a point of time is displayed to the market. Once this quantity is traded, another quantity 200 is automatically released and so on till the full order is executed. The Exchange may set a minimum disclosed quantity criteria from time to time.* Minimum FII: these orders allow the trading member to specifiy the minimum quantity by which an order should be filled.* All or none orders: all or none orders allow a trading member to impose the condition that only full order should be matched against.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE)

The Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) was established in early 1986. The ISE is the only securities exchange in Turkey established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The ISE is governed by an Executive Council composed of five members elected by the General Assembly. Mr. Huseyin ERKAN was appointed as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the ISE by the government on November 2, 2007. Four other members of the Council represent the three categories of Exchange members: development banks, commercial banks and brokerage houses.As an autonomous, professional organization, the ISE enjoys a high degree of self-regulation. Its revenues are generated from fees charged on transactions, listing procedures and miscellaneous services. The profits of the ISE are retained to meet expenses and to undertake investments and are not distributed to any third parties. The ISE has its own budget.Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerThe Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Istanbul Stock Exchange Mr. Huseyin ERKAN is appointed by the Turkish government for a term of five years and acts as an intermediary between the members and higher authorities including the Capital Markets Board, the regulatory and supervisory authority for the Turkish capital markets, and related government departments.General AssemblyThe General Assembly, composed of ISE members, is the supreme decision-making body of the ISE. Its decisions are subject to ratification and review by the Capital Markets Board. The General Assembly also decides on important matters related to the management and administration of the ISE. Each member has one vote at the meetings which can also be convened on an extraordinary basis.Executive Council The Executive Council meets regularly to decide on matters concerning the daily operations of the ISE as well as to review listing admissions. The Council consists of five officers including the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. All officers except the Chairman are elected by the General Assembly for a term of four years and represent all three categories of ISE members.Audit CommitteeAll accounts and financial statements of the ISE are audited by two internal auditors appointed by the General Assembly. ISE's accounts are also independently audited.Vice-ChairmenThe Senior Vice Chairman and three Vice Chairmen of the ISE act as links between the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Council, other departments of the ISE and intermediary institutions.Inspection BoardThe Head of Inspection Board also acts as the link between the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Council, other departments of the ISE and intermediary institutions. The Inspection Board closely monitors the transactions conducted on the ISE as a measure to prevent manipulation in the Stock Market and reports directly to the Head of Inspection Board. The Board also inspects and observes the compliance of members and ISE personnel with the established rules and regulations.

The Philippine Stock Exchange

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. ("PSE" or the "Exchange") is a private organization that provides and ensures a fair, efficient, transparent and orderly market for the buying and selling of securities.PSE traces its roots from the country's two former bourses: the Manila Stock Exchange ("MSE") and the Makati Stock Exchange ("MkSE"). Founded in March 1927, the MSE was the first stock exchange in the Philippines and one of the oldest in Asia. Originally housed in downtown Manila, the MSE moved to Pasig City in 1992. The MkSE, on the other hand, was established in May 1963 and became the second bourse to operate in the country. It was based in Makati City, a budding business district during those days.While trading the same listed issues, MSE and MkSE remained separate entities for almost thirty years. December 23, 1992 marked a milestone for the Philippine capital market when the MSE and MkSE were unified to become the PSE.At present, PSE maintains two trading floors -- one in Makati City and another in its head office in Pasig City. Even with two trading floors, PSE maintains a "one-price, one-market" Exchange through the MakTrade System. This is a single-order-book system that tallies all orders into one computer and ensures that these orders match with the best bid/best offer regardless of which floor the orders were placed. MakTrade likewise allows PSE to facilitate the trading of securities in a broker-to-broker market through automatic order and trade routing and confirmation. It also keeps an eye on any irregularity in the transactions with its market regulation and surveillance databases.In June 1998, the Securities and Exchange Commission conferred to the PSE the status of a Self-Regulatory Organization, which allows the PSE to implement its own rules and impose penalties on erring trading participants and listed companies.In 2001, or a year after the Securities Regulation Code of 2000 was enacted, the PSE was reorganized and transformed from a non-stock, member-governed organization into a shareholder-based, revenue-generating corporation. Along with this rebirth came the separation of the Exchange's ownership and trading rights, opening the doors for new market participants. On December 15, 2003, PSE shares were listed by way of introduction.The Philippine Central Depository, established in March 1995, provides the securities settlement system for both debt and equity instruments of the Exchange. Its computerized book-entry-settlement system paved the way for a safe and efficient scripless trading.Assuming the role of settlement coordinator and risk manager for broker transactions as well as administrator of the trade guaranty fund is the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines ("SCCP"). SCCP is the clearing and settlement agency for depository eligible trades in the Exchange.Companies are listed in the PSE on the First Board, Second Board or the Small and Medium Enterprises Board. To help the investing public keep track faster of industry performance, listed companies are classified into the following sectors: Financial, Industrial, Holding Firms, Property, Services, and Mining and Oil. More importantly, PSE has adopted an online daily disclosure system to improve the transparency of listed companies and ensure full, fair, timely and accurate disclosure of material information from all listed companies.To address public demand for speedy access to information on the securities market, the PSE's website, www.pse.com.ph, provides comprehensive market data, stock quotations, dividend declarations, trading activities, and other pertinent information on the PSE, trading participants, listed companies and other institutions.

High Yield versus Conservative Investing

Which investment strategy is right for you? Only an individual investor can answer that question for their own interests. Some people can tolerate the significant risk factors while others prefer the stability of the more conservative and conventional methods of investing. Some people are more willing to take a gamble than others, and by all means high yield investing is a form of gambling.There are dramatically fewer scams in conventional investing. Some people will always believe that high yield investing is a scam and there is nothing that will convince them otherwise. Just because some people are able to be successful doesn't mean that a program is not a scam. And just because something is a scam doesn't mean that some money can't be made anyway. Does it make it right or real or worthwhile? Again this is something that each individual investor needs to determine for themselves.For solid investment advice and a clearer path to investment success, independent advice and research is the best way to go. For all kinds of independent investment advice, stop by onlinetradingideas for comprehensive investment strategies, advice, and independent research. This site is particularly useful for making the most from conventional trading ideas and profiting from forex trades without having to enter the realm of high yield investment programs.

High Yield Investing

What does High Yield Really Mean?
High yield investing has taken on a totally new dimension since the introduction of the internet and the basic personal computer. In the United States, a high yield account is considered to be anything over 5% monthly. Of curse as the old adage goes, the higher the yield the larger the risk. This is true. You can not expect to earn more than an average percentage rate with less risk. It just doesn't make sense.When discussing high yield interest accounts, are we talking about a savings account that produces a 5.4% annual percentage return? Well, yes. And no. It depends on who you are and what you consider to be possibilities and realistic.By now most of us have heard about investment programs that claim to be able to produce ridiculously high returns. Traditional investors cringes when they hear terms like 25% per month for one year plus the return of principle, and they nearly quiver when they hear claims of 300% in eight weeks. Certainly these high yield investment programs must be scams. How can it be possible to produce such returns in such a short amount of time? And why isn't everyone out there doing this if it can really happen? If these high yield investments hold any water then in just five short years we could wipe out poverty and homelessness and no child would ever go to bed hungry or sick again! Are High Yield Investments Scams?Believe it or not this question is not a simple yes or no response. It can't be. The short and safe answer would be yes, they are scams. However, it is important to understand what they are and why they have not all been shut down by the government if they are nothing more than a way to steal your money.High yield investment programs are not a place to try to earn an income. They are extremely volatile and unpredictable. People can and do make money from them, and sometimes it's a significant amount of money. But don't get excited and start rushing out to re-mortgage your house just yet.Read every single disclaimer on a high yield investment program website and they will all say the exact same thing. High yield investing comes with the risk of losing money. Never invest more than you can stand to lose. Why? Because every high yield investment program will eventually crumble and those with money invested are going to lose.High yield investment programs are based on principles similar to gambling. While most of do not, there are people in the world who make their living traveling around to casinos and gambling. Is it a scam? No. In fact most of us at least respect the fact that the individual is competent enough at playing casino games that they can earn a living at it regardless of how we feel about gambling ourselves. The same applies to earning a living from high yield investment programs. Most investors do not even consider them real investments and scoff at those who attempt to earn a living through high yield investing.Most people who are able to fund their lifestyle and earn a living through high yield investment programs started in using one of two methods. They either jumped in with both feet at the first program that sounded good to them and lost everything they invested or they researched high yield investment programs until their fingers went numb before ever investing a dime. Either way, both parties came to the conclusion that to come out ahead in high yield investments programs they would have to do ample research and completely understand the system and principles before they were going to succeed.Earning a living through high yield investment programs takes a system that is easy to implement and follow to prevent early closing and hefty losses. This system takes a lot of due diligence and of course, some very specialized knowledge about forex trading and even gambling.Reading the website's method of investment can tell the average high yield investor a lot about the security, or lack thereof, for any particular program. Most will admit to trading in forex, which any average investor can do with a little knowledge and research. Some will tell you that they are trading in commodities as well and some admit that they are also gambling with the investors' money, literally. Any website that says they are gambling using fool proof methods of winning should absolutely be avoided at all costs. There is no fool proof method of gambling.High yield investing is probably something to be avoided altogether, although that is an individual choice only an individual investor can make. However, if you choose to get involved with a high yield investment program and you loose your money, that was your choice as well. Just like it is possible to loose money in the stock market, you are likely to loose money in high yield investments. An investor that looses money in the stock market doesn't typically file a lawsuit against the broker, so why are people so quick to file lawsuits and complaints when they loose money in high yield investment programs?The answer is unpleasant but for the most part it is true. Greed. We can accept that there are poor investments out there and should we loose three or four thousand dollars in a bad investment we accept it as part of the potential outcome of investing. Yet because we got excited and our minds started spending the money we were hoping to see through a high yield investment now suddenly the people who run these programs are thieves. High yield investments are investments even if they do border on scams and you run the risk of losing your money. Remember the basic principle of any investment? The higher the return the more likely you are to lose your money.High yield investments are incredibly risky and some of them are actually scams. Scam artists are everywhere and if there are people in the world who are willing to fork over thousands of dollars in the unrealistic hope that they can turn it into ten of thousands of dollars in a relatively short period of time then there will be people who are willing to steal that money from potential investors.People are willing to donate their money to any valuable cause, so there are people who are willing to set up phony charities to steal donations from giving people. That certainly doesn't make every charity a scam and people aren't going to stop donating to charities of their choice. Just as there are individuals who will take advantage of people's kindness and desire to give to charities, there are individuals who are interested in scamming money from people who are trying to improve their financial portfolio through high yield investment programs. That doesn't mean every single high yield investment program is a scam.The one thing all high yield investment programs do have in common is that sooner or later they will all fold, even those that start out being profitable. Just because a high yield investment program starts off producing the returns that it proposed in the beginning doesn't mean that it will continue to do so over a long period of time. This is how the high yield investor gets dramatically burned. One or two programs that delivers for a period of time doesn't mean it's time to quit the job and devote all the available resources to high yield investing. It means that one or two programs are doing well. They will not do well forever and sooner or later they will crumble. That is the nature of high yield investing.

Six Forex Trading Tips for Newbies

You have decided to be a trader in the forex market, and you have no idea on how to begin. Let's first start by defining what the forex market is and what it does.The term "forex", also known as the foreign exchange is a market for the sale and purchase of all kinds of currencies. It originated in the early 1970's when floating currencies and free exchange rates were first introduced. At this time, the forex market traders were the ones who set the value of one type of currency against another.Nowadays, the market forces determine the value of a currency against another. One unique aspect of the Forex market is that very little trading qualifications are required of anyone intending to trade therein.Independence from external control ensures that only the market forces influence the currency prices. As the largest financial market, with trades reaching up to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, or USD, the money moves so fast, it’s impossible for a single investor to substantially affect the price of any major foreign currency.In addition, unlike any stock that is rarely traded, forex traders are able to open and close any positions within seconds, because there are always a number of willing buyers and sellers.
The first thing you need to do is open a forex account. You will have to fill an application form which includes a margin agreement stating if the broker will be allowed to intervene with any trade when it appears too risky. Since most trades are done using the broker's money, it is only logical that he protect his interests. However, once you have established an account, you can fund it and begin trading in the forex market.
Adopt a trading strategy, that has proven to be successful for you. Remember that strategies will work differently for different traders, so don't try to adopt a strategy that works well for another trader. It might backfire on you. The two available approaches are either technical analysis or fundamental analysis. A combination of the two is a more preferred choice for experienced traders.
Understand that prices move by trends. Forex has a popular saying, “The trend is your friend.” There are certain movements that have been studied over many years in order to identify a pattern in the trend. These trends need to be understood in order to understand a good trading strategy. For small accounts that are $25,000 and under, trading with a trend may help improving your odds when compared to bi-directional trading. Most newbie’s will look to trade in any direction, when they should be trading with a trend.
Ensure you know which are the top five currencies pairs in the foreign exchange. These are USD/Yen, Swiss franc/USD, Euro/Yen, Euro/USD and Pound/USD.
For newbies, it is advisable to maintain two accounts to ensure you learn to play the trading game. Keep one real account, one that you will actually use to trade real money; and the second account should be a demo, one that you can use to test alternative moves in the trading game. You can easily use your demo account to shadow the trades in your real account so you can widen your stops to see if you are being too conservative or not.
Always examine the one hour, four hour and daily charts that concern your trades. Although you can trade at 15 and 30 minute time intervals, doing so requires a handful of dexterity.

How do I trade Forex?

You select the pair of currencies with which you wish to make a Forex deal. You determine the volume (the amount of the deal). You deposit the "margin" (collateral needed to facilitate the deal. Usually - only a very small portion of the whole deal, say: 1% or 1:100).Before you finally activate the deal, you can still "freeze" it for a few seconds. That enables you to either change the terms, or accept it as is, or altogether regret the whole idea. The "freeze" feature is a unique service by Easy-Forex™.When your Forex deal is running (you hold an "open position"), you can monitor its status and check scenarios online, whenever you wish. You may change some terms in the deal, or close it (and cash the profit, if any, or minimize the loss, if any). Moreover, Easy-Forex™ lets you determine a "take-profit" rate, with which the deal will close automatically for you, when and if such rate occurs in the market. Meaning: you do not have to stay near your computer when you hold open positions.Want to know more? Want to get on-line training? Register here (simple, quick, no obligation), we'll be glad to guide you, every step of the way.

How do I start?

Register (Easy-Forex™ offers the simplest and quickest registration process, no obligation); deposit your first trading "margin" amount (credit cards are welcome, only by Easy-Forex™); start trading.It can't be simpler or easier than that. Need help? We'll provide you with 1-on-1 training and service, as much as necessary (Easy-Forex™ offers real people service, live, in your own language).

How does one profit in Forex?

Very simple and obvious: buy cheap and sell for more! The profit is generated from the fluctuations (changes) in the currency exchange market.The nice thing about the FOREX market, is that regular daily fluctuations, say - around 1%, are multiplied by 100! (in general, Easy-Forex™ offers trading ratios from 1:50 to 1:200). If, for example, the exchange rate of "your" pair of currencies increased by 0.6% in the last 4 hours, your profit will be 60% on your investment! Such can happen in one business day, or in a few hours, even minutes.Moreover, you cannot lose more than your "margin"! You may profit unlimited amounts, but you never lose more than what you initially risked and invested.You can implement your choice (the pair of currencies, the volume amount) under any direction to which the market is moving, and yet make profit. It does not matter whether the exchange rate is going up or down: you can always decide to buy Euro and sell dollar, or vice versa - buy dollar and sell Euro. You don't have to physically possess certain currencies in order to perform "buy" or "sell" with them.

Forex? What is it, anyway?

The currency trading (FOREX) market is the biggest and the fastest growing market on earth. Its daily turnover is more than 2.5 trillion dollars, which is 100 times greater than the NASDAQ daily turnover. (click here to read full market background by Easy-Forex™).Markets are places to trade goods. The same goes with FOREX. The Forex goods (or merchandise) are the currencies of various countries. You buy Euro, paying with US dollars, or you sell Japanese Yens for Canadian dollars. That's all.

Tehran Stock Exchange

TSE opened in February 1967. During its first year of activity, only six companies were listed in TSE. Then Government bonds and certain State-baked certificate were traded in the market.The Tehran Stock Exchange has come a long way. Today TSE has evolved into an exciting and growing marketplace where individual and institutional investor trade securities of over 420 companies.TSE activities process could be divided into three periods:A) Since the beginning of TSE activity until revolution (1967-1978)In the period of 1967 to 1978 the number of listed companies and their capital raised from 6 with IRRs 6.2 b to 105 (22 private banks, 2 insurance companies, and 81 industrial corporations) with IRRs 240 b.In 1967 the value of shares and bonds traded in the TSE, was IR 15 m, which increased to IRRs 34.2 b in 1978.Actually, most of this development activity was due to the ratification of ownership development of manufacturing units' stocks and tax exemption for the listed companies' laws.B) Since revolution until the end of imposed war:(1979-1988)In the second period of TSE activities, two important events i.e. the Islamic revolution and Iraq's invasion were reduced exchange activities severely and exiting number of listed companies from TSE. In 1978 the value of shares traded was reduced to IRRs 4.1 b and this trend continued to 1982 and reached IRRs 9 m. From 1982 the trend of shares value increased and finally at the end of the period reached IRRs 9.9 b.c) Since the end of imposed war until now (1989-2006)In fact, TSE was taken into account as one of the most important executive mechanisms for national economy optimization in order to facilitate the equipment and active contribution of the private sector in the productive activities through transferring some of the state duties to the private sector, gathering and errant savings, all to be directed toward investment. In 1989, economic authorities' attention to restarting of TSE activities increased the number of listed companies from 56 in 1988 to 422 in 2006. Furthermore, in 1988 the annual value of shares traded in the TSE, was IRRs 9.9 b, which increased to IRRs 44.8 b in 2006. During this period, especially between 2001 -2004, return of TSE investments grown up considerably and in 2003 reached to 131.4% which on that year was the highest return between WFE's members.

The Stock Exchange Bank

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