Thursday, August 24, 2006

Currency Trading

Currency Trading Guide By Mansi Aggarwal Currency trading or forex (foreign exchange) as the name suggests refers to the act of exchanging the legal tender of one country for another. “In finance the exchange rate between two currencies specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other”. For instance an exchange of 200 Japanese yen to dollar indicate that 120 yen is worth the same as 1USD. Exchange rate is also called as foreign currency rate.
Currency trading is a very ancient phenomenon. Its existence can be traced back to time before money and Internet were discovered. The custom of currency trading began with the bartering system i.e. our ancestors commenced trading of goods against other goods. This bartering system was quite incompetent and needed lot of negotiation and investigation to be able to strike a deal. In the years that followed the important metals such gold, silver and bronze were standardized and graded to make easy the exchange of merchandise. The grounds for these mediums of exchange were acceptance by the general public and realistic variables such as durability and storage. As the middle age came, a variety of paper exchange started taking place and that became quite popular as an exchange medium.
Time passed by and the simple bartering system evolved into a complex and huge industry of foreign or currency exchange. Though with the use of money and banks the system developed to a large extent but it is still developing with the aid of Internet.
Currency exchange is not a simple task. It requires enormous time, market knowledge, ability to study the current market and predict its future course and also immense self-control. But the currency exchange market is extremely volatile and fast. There is no guarantee either of profit or of loss. To be successful in this market a trader has to take into consideration technical and fundamental data and make an informed decision on behalf of his observation of forex futures trading market sentiment and market expectations. Proper planning in timing a trade correctly is perhaps the most crucial factor in successful currency trading. However yet there are times when a trader misses the mark i.e. when his timing will be off.
Besides timing factor being rightly handled, patience of a trader is also quite essential. Perseverance is one of the essential characteristics of a trader. He or she might not be academically qualified enough but must have the potential to stand for a good time in the market. It is only after spending a good amount of time that you understand the intricacies of the market and start accruing some gains.
You should not hesitate to take the help of an experienced trader whom you know and trust. It is very difficult to survive in this currency trade market without the help of qualified professionals. So in the beginning it is better for any naïve trader to take the help of professionals.
If you are not incurring gains for a long time and do not hope that in near future, stop for sometime. This will give you mental peace and entitles you to get out at certain points on trade.
At the end of the day don’t forget that in the market of currency exchange, experience is the biggest teacher of all.
Mansi Aggarwal recommends you visit Currency Trading for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mansi_Aggarwal

Consulting Firms

Consultants Help Fine Tune Your Business Performance By Susan Jan A consultant is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular area of expertise such as IT, management, marketing, or finance etc. Consultants identify companies' marketing or business needs, and they help companies improve their performance and profitability by analyzing existing business problems and developing future strategies. They help determine the most effective marketing and business solutions to your business, as well as the best ways to execute these solutions for the betterment of your business. Consultants generally use formal methodologies to analyze problems or to suggest better ways of completing business tasks. Consultants help execute your business plan and strategies, allowing you to focus on other important business issues and business meetings.
Management and business consulting grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s with industry growth rates of 20%. Consulting is highly cyclical and is sensitive to general economic conditions. The consulting industry declined between 2001 to 2003, but has been experiencing some growth since.
Nowadays there are three major types of consulting firms. One type is the larger consulting firm that offers a wide variety of consulting services, ranging from IT consulting to management consulting. Another type is the established management and strategic consulting firms that focus mainly on management consulting that covers any specific industry. Yet another type is the smaller boutique consulting firms with consulting focus and expertise on specific industries or technologies.
The more established consulting firms today include Arthur D. Little, a general management consulting firm; Booz Allen Hamilton was the first consulting firm to serve clients in both the government and the industry; McKinsey & Company, was one of the first pure management consulting firm and currently leads the field. It was also one of the first consulting firms to hire graduates of top MBA schools rather than hiring experienced industry personnel. Boston Consulting Group brought an analytical approach to the study of strategy and management. Bain & Company introduced its focus on shareholder wealth. Traditional accounting companies such as Arthur Andersen and global IT services firms such as IBM also set up consulting departments.
Businesses or companies can engage a business or management consulting firm or an individual business consultant who will draw up suitable business plans and strategies and implement them. Consultants are generally well paid with some business consultants charging $150 per hour, and sometimes even as high as $2,000 per day for their services.
For a more comprehensive look at Consulting, visit elite-consulting.info. Susan also enjoys writing at health-and-fitness-hub.info.
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Accounting Firms

Would the Big Four Lose One More? By Neil More Eight becomes Six, Six becomes Five, Five becomes Four, Four becomes Three? Well, for those of you who are not well versed with the top four Accounting firms, this would sound like a Montessori school lesson.
Big4.com-a website catering to Big4 alumni- receives periodic updates on the latest news and trends at the Big Four accounting firms. The present Big 4 firms were all a part of the previous Big 8. The Big 8 term reflected the extensive dominance of the eight largest accounting firms in the world. Mergers of regional accounting firms led to the birth of Big Eight.
The Big Eight companies were-· Arthur Andersen· Arthur Young· Coopers Lybrand· Ernst Ernst (later became Ernst & Whitney)· Haskins Sells (later became Deloitte, Haskins, Sells)· Peat Marwick International (later became KPMG)· Price Waterhouse· Touche Ross
In 1989, the Big Eight became Big Six when Ernst Whitney had a merger with Arthur Young to form Ernst Young. Deloitte, Haskins Sells merged with Coopers Lybrand to form Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
The Big 5 descended from Big Six. Big Five Firms were the world’s top five companies with disparate areas of specialization. They were-· Arthur Andersen· Deloitte & Touche· Ernst & Young· KPMG· PricewaterhouseCoopers
The collapse of Enron in 2001 caused Arthur Andersen to step out of the erstwhile "Big Five" Group. After the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) revealed off-balance sheet costs-undisclosed losses of hundreds of millions of dollars-Arthur Andersen Consulting bowed out of the Big Five League.
Close on the heels of Arthur Andersen’s downfall, KPMG, the New York based accounting firm faces indictment charges for allegedly selling Tax shelters. As the Justice Department considers the penalties for KPMG, things might go awry if the firm is convicted of obstruction of justice.
Reforms like Sarbanes-Oxley have stressed the importance of complete audits to expose and mitigate fraudulent behavior. Now, the onus might, as well, shift on the three major auditing firms as KPMG faces indictment charges. If guilty, KPMG would no longer be able to certify the audit results. Consequently, their customer base might shift to other accounting giants.
According to many accounting experts, indicting KPMG or any other Big Four accounting firm would damage accounting relationships and eventually lead to loss of jobs. The absence of KPMG would mean less competition, although firms might attract more business and clients. This destructive option can be replaced with a sensible alternative- indicting partners and other employees of firms who are found guilty. Supporting this ideology, KPMG have started the process of terminating employees connected with the tax-shelter scandal and envisaged policy changes to eradicate unethical business practices.
While it’s true that punitive action should be employed if and when unlawful business practices are followed, it’s not necessary for KPMG to face the axe. If these giants are cut to size frequently, then people would have to run from pillar to post searching for efficient business partners. Reforms like Sarbanes-Oxley are the order of the day. Sarbanes-Oxley specifies that rotation of audit partners (on a periodic basis) regulates any congenial chemistry between executives and auditors. Implementing and following these policies would enable best practices in business environs and facilitate transparent auditing processes.
Hi. I am Neil and am a Big4.com Alumni Member. I have been writing articles since my college days. Would love to interact and share my articles with other writers.
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Online Degrees

Online Degrees By C. Bailey-Lloyd Trying to improve your career outlook and you just can’t seem to find the time to attend your local school or college? Perhaps enrolling in a distance learning program to attain your online degree may be the right option for you!
Because online colleges and online universities virtually offer hundreds of online degree programs and an assortment of training opportunities to meet individual schedules, budgets and learning styles; prospective students can expect to gain a comprehensive online course geared toward their specific interests in the convenience of their own private settings.
Online degrees often encompass a diverse field of professional topics including but not limited to Associates, Bachelors, Masters (and even PhDs) in the following: Criminal Justice and relevant subfields such as Forensic Psychology, Law and Law Enforcement; Computer Information Systems and related subfields: Information Technology, Animation and Multimedia, Networking, Programming, and Web Development; Education; Arts and Sciences; Business and Business Management; Healthcare; Paralegal; and many other career and online degree curriculums.
Online schools and online colleges provide students with wide-ranging distance learning platforms that enable students to work together online in an interactive web community. Instructor feedback is intermittently provided to students to evaluate personal progress toward earning individual online degrees.
How much time do you have to invest in attaining your online degree? That depends on you entirely. As with any educational program, to complete desired online courses toward the attainment of an online degree, one is expected to devote a fair amount of time into their individual educational objectives. The great part about online schools is that they afford students with the preference of when they would like to commit that time to the school. Students should anticipate spending anywhere from 12 to 15 hours per week on class and homework assignments. Without doubt, enrolling in an online degree program can be beneficial to persons who are too busy to attend local schools or universities; are enthusiastic about learning new skills, and are comfortable with working independently.
What can you expect from an online degree program? Most times, online schools may provide students with relative books, audio, visual, online text and graphics to lend support in the educational process. Overall, online degree courses vary in length of time and educational levels, and may provide students with opportunities to attain distance education courses ranging from Associates Degrees to PhD Degrees, (depending on particular career fields).
Is an online degree right for you? If so, feel free to visit our onsite glossary and browse all the exciting career opportunities waiting for you now.
DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com
Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved C. Bailey-Lloyd, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com
C. Bailey-Lloyd is the Public Relations Director & Writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Find Online Degrees at SchoolsGalore.com; meeting your needs as your educational resource to locate schools.
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