Posts Tagged ‘History’
Will stock broker firms accept graduates with a degree in international relations or history?
February 28th, 2010 | 
Author: international relations is basically a combination of history, politics and a bit of economics. If not what degrees do they usually look for?
If I have a combined auto insurance policy with my my spouse, does the claim history follow both of us?
I have an auto insurance policy with my spouse. He was in an accident and filed a claim. He is not planning to buy another car and is going to use public transport. If I drop him from my policy, will my rates still go up because of his claim even though I was not involved in the accident? If I go with a different insurance company only for myself, will they also quote higher rates because of the claim?
History of discrimination cited against Mercury Insurance – San Jose Mercury News
 The Consumerist (blog) |
History of discrimination cited against Mercury Insurance
San Jose Mercury News SACRAMENTO — Mercury Insurance Corp. has a history of discriminatory practices against an array of groups, including military personnel, … Consumer Watchdog and Steve Poizner behind battle against Mercury Insurance Backer of Auto-Insurance Measure Has Ugly Record Internal Gov't Reports Show Mercury Insurance Discriminated Against Soldiers … |
Posted in Insurance | 
Tags: Against, cited, discrimination, History, Insurance, Jose, Mercury, News | 
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Stock Market Index History
Stock market indices play an important role in gauging the economic health and progress of a country. Oftentimes someone will say “the stock market is up” or “down” but that is not necessarily a meaningful statement. Understanding how stock market indices are calculated and their history can be very instrumental in understanding the stock market as a whole. The Origin Of The Stock Market IndexAs stock markets became more and more prevalent in industrialized countries, people began to look for a “barometer” of the stock market as a whole. The very first stock market index was the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which was created by Charles Dow in 1884. It was followed shortly thereafter by many more indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average which, in a very modified form, is still widely publicized and followed today. How Indices Are CalculatedA stock market index is generally calculated by combining a weighted average of a set of particular stocks. For example, in the case of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 30 stocks are weighted by price to get a measurement of the market as a whole. It should be noted that all indices are somewhat arbitrary and are more useful as indicators of relative and historical growth rather than a raw number. Additionally, in many indices stocks often times are added or removed due to bankruptcies or simply becoming less relevant than another stock. Most recently Kraft Foods replace AIG in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Popular Stock IndicesThe most popularly referenced American stock market indices are:The Dow Jones Industrial Average – These are 30 of the largest American stocks. The S&P 500 – The 500 large actively traded US stocks. The NASDAQ Composite - An index of all the common stocks on the NASDAQ exchange. Foreign Stock Indexes:Other countries of course have their own stock markets and thus their own averages to use to measure them. Britain has the FTSE (pronounced like “Footsie”) which is very similar to Americas S&P. Japan has their Nikkei average. Hong Kong has the Hang Seng. There are of course many more.
Stock Market History
Early in our country’s history and stock market history, Boston was the original financial center of America. In Boston bonds for projects that included roads, canals, bridges and commodities such as hides and molasses, were sold and bought by dealers in Boston. Even though business was conducted in Boston, it was not considered an official place to conduct such financial business which is part of the stock market history. It wasn’t until 1792 that the United States of America would official organize a formal stock and bond trading in the stock market history which was located in New York. The new banks that were forming attracted wealthy businessmen, who would sell lottery tickets, bonds and shares of stocks along with their ordinary trade. During this time, treasury bonds issued by the new Bank of the United States were the hottest commodity for trading and speculating. According to stock market history, the first organized stock exchange was created in 1792. Benjamin Jay, John Sutton and 22 additional financial leaders met and agreed to sign an agreement that outlined the rules, regulations and fees for the stock exchange. The original Wall Street was built in 1644 on the lower end of Manhattan by the Dutch to protect themselves against attacks from the British. The wall was later destroyed but the road that ran along side it remained. This is how the term Wall Street was first conceived. Stock market history includes the establishment of the Stock Exchange Office. The Stock Exchange Office was used to auction securities every day to be sold to the highest bidder. The seller of the securities paid the exchange a commission on each stock or bond sold. Stock market history shows that the Stock Exchange was an exclusive organization that only the elite of New York’s financial community could join. It wasn’t until 1817 that the name of the Stock Exchange was officially changed to the New York Stock and Exchange Board. Then in 1863, the New York Stock and Exchange Board decided to change its name to the New York Stock Exchange. In stock market history, it was during 1863 that the New York Stock Exchange moved into the building at the corner of Wall and Broad streets to conduct business. This is the location that the New York Stock Exchange still conducts business today. During the early years of the stock market history, there were a few smaller exchanges that competed with the New York Stock Exchange. One of these smaller exchanges was known as the Curbstone Brokers because they would conduct business outside on the curb come rain or shine. The Curbstone Brokers would deal in smaller companies that couldn’t meet the requirements that had been set by the New York Stock Exchange. It wasn’t until after the Curbstone Brokers had been in business for over 100 years that they purchased a lot at the west end of Wall Street known as Trinity Place. In 1919, the Curbstone Brokers built a tall modern building at 86 Trinity Place. Ten years later the Curbstone Brokers renamed themselves the New York Curb Exchange and moved into their brand new building. Stock market history shows that in 1953 the New York Curb Exchange changed its name to the American Stock Exchange. Stock market history shows there were only 295 corporations in 1800 in the exchange which about 20 traded publicly. By 1835, there were approximately 121 being traded publicly many of those were railroads. In 1869, there were 145 companies listed, including insurance, steel, farm equipment, tobacco, and other manufacturers. In 1900, U. S. Steel was the biggest stock being traded. Stock market history shows that AT&T, Westinghouse, Eastman Kodak, Procter and Gamble, Pillsbury, Sears, Kellogg, and Nabisco Crackers were also on the New York Stock Exchange during this time period. The market was roaring during this time. Stock market history shows that a good Wall Street “runner” (someone who delivered paperwork and stock certificates between brokerages) could make $8. 00 per day which was an incredible sum considering the prevailing wage at the time was 10 cents or less per hour.
Mutual Funds – An Introduction and Brief History
Each one of us does not have the expertise or the time to build and manage an investment portfolio. There is an excellent alternative available – mutual funds.
A mutual fund is an investment intermediary by which people can pool their money and invest it according to a predetermined objective.
Each investor of the mutual fund gets a share of the pool proportionate to the initial investment that he makes. The capital of the mutual fund is divided into shares or units and investors get a number of units proportionate to their investment.
The investment objective of the mutual fund is always decided beforehand. Mutual funds invest in bonds, stocks, money-market instruments, real estate, commodities or other investments or many times a combination of any of these.
The details regarding the funds’ policies, objectives, charges, services etc are all available in the fund’s prospectus and every investor should go through the prospectus before investing in a mutual fund.
The investment decisions for the pool capital are made by a fund manager (or managers). The fund manager decides what securities are to be bought and in what quantity.
The value of units changes with change in aggregate value of the investments made by the mutual fund.
The value of each share or unit of the mutual fund is called NAV (Net Asset Value).
Different funds have different risk – reward profile. A mutual fund that invests in stocks is a greater risk investment than a mutual fund that invests in government bonds. The value of stocks can go down resulting in a loss for the investor, but money invested in bonds is safe (unless the Government defaults – which is rare. ) At the same time the greater risk in stocks also presents an opportunity for higher returns. Stocks can go up to any limit, but returns from government bonds are limited to the interest rate offered by the government.
History of Mutual Funds:
The first “pooling of money” for investments was done in 1774. After the 1772-1773 financial crisis, a Dutch merchant Adriaan van Ketwich invited investors to come together to form an investment trust. The goal of the trust was to lower risks involved in investing by providing diversification to the small investors. The funds invested in various European countries such as Austria, Denmark and Spain. The investments were mainly in bonds and equity formed a small portion. The trust was names Eendragt Maakt Magt, which meant “Unity Creates Strength”.
The fund had many features that attracted investors:
It had an embedded lottery.
There was an assured 4% dividend, which was slightly less than the average rates prevalent at that time. Thus the interest income exceeded the required payouts and the difference was converted to a cash reserve.
The cash reserve was utilized to retire a few shares annually at 10% premium and hence the remaining shares earned a higher interest. Thus the cash reserve kept increasing over time – further accelerating share redemption.
The trust was to be dissolved at the end of 25 years and the capital was to be divided among the remaining investors.
However a war with England led to many bonds defaulting. Due to the decrease in investment income, share redemption was suspended in 1782 and later the interest payments were lowered too. The fund was no longer attractive for investors and faded away.
After evolving in Europe for a few years, the idea of mutual funds reached the US at the end if nineteenth century. In the year 1893, the first closed-end fund was formed. It was named the “The Boston Personal Property Trust. “
The Alexander Fund in Philadelphia was the first step towards open-end funds. It was established in 1907 and had new issues every six months. Investors were allowed to make redemptions.
The first true open-end fund was the Massachusetts Investors’ Trust of Boston. Formed in the year 1924, it went public in 1928. 1928 also saw the emergence of first balanced fund – The Wellington Fund that invested in both stocks and bonds.
The concept of Index based funds was given by William Fouse and John McQuown of the Wells Fargo Bank in 1971. Based on their concept, John Bogle launched the first retail Index Fund in 1976. It was called the First Index Investment Trust. It is now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. It crossed 100 billion dollars in assets in November 2000 and became the World’s largest fund.
Today mutual funds have come a long way. Nearly one in two households in the US invests in mutual funds. The popularity of mutual funds is also soaring in developing economies like India. They have become the preferred investment route for many investors, who value the unique combination of diversification, low costs and simplicity provided by the funds.
