You are entitled to get your credit report once a year, just simply contact any one of the above credit report agencies and inform them you interested in obtaining your annual free credit report. You need to prove that you are the same person who applies for the free report and that your address is the same address as their record. It will take about fifteen days for you to receive the report.

There are some companies that will tell your credit rating over the phone, if you have already checked your credit report within the last six month through phone. Please note that there is difference between annual free credit report and free credit report score.

Annual credit report will show your monthly credit rating based on your recently opened and closed accounts, while credit report score checks your credit history to provide a three digit score. A free credit score is only beneficial if you already know your credit rating.

One important point to consider for having good credit report and score is the type of credit card you choose. When you compare credit cards, you should keep in mind the following points:

1-    No liability on fraud use of your card
2-    APR rates and the time
3-    Availability of cash advance
4-    Annual fee

When it comes to the offered services, provisioning of online news directly from Reuters on finance is an added advantage over the competitors. Financial news is also provided in the form of SMS text alerts. If a market analysis is requested by a client, One Financial is willing to carry out an independent analysis tailored to client’s specific requirements. This is one step towards providing customized services for One Financial’s clients. There are differences in the services offered to the categories of clients and it encourages the clients to upgrade or enhance the relationship with One Financial. As an example, for private clients, One Financial offers 24×5 help desk and for VIP clients a live chat facility direct to the trading floor. Since One Financial also focuses on Arabic clients, they provide services such as Sharia compliant accounts and support in Arabic language.

One Financial offers a wide range of tools and analytics for the clients that add value to trading. Full technical analysis training is available from One Financial’s team of market experts through downloadable self-study papers, workshops and seminars. They even offer one-to-one trainings for qualified clients. As one of the leading cfd providers, One Financial even offers a demo CFD account for trying out their services for new clients. This facility comes handy when a client wants to evaluate few service providers before making the choice. If the client is satisfied by the demo account, then a real account can be opened online by completing only few steps.

VAT or GST (Goods and services tax) is tax on exchanges. Imagine a scenario where a particular consumer item is being produced by one party and then bought by another party for further enhancement and then sold to the end customer. Then the end customer should be charged VAT only for the value added by the second party; not for the total value of the good. But, in practice, this is not the usual case. Usually VAT is charged for the total value of the goods or service from the end customer. This is a violation of tax laws as there is a separate tax called sales tax which has the same effect. Sales tax is levied on the total value of the exchange. Ideally VAT should be neutral with respect to the number of passages between the producer and the end customer.

VAT is called an indirect tax where the consumer is not charged for the entire cost of the goods and services. The main issue related to VAT is the double taxation. To avoid this, exports are not taxed for VAT and in case they are taxed, it is refundable. There are heavy criticisms against VAT calling it a regressive tax, which has the effect of the poor paying more compared to the rich. The main factor is that when VAT is calculated for an exchange, end customer’s income is not considered; only the spending is considered. Therefore, the taxation is the same whether you earn less or high. However, usually the government revenue from VAT is less than expected due to difficulties of administration and collection.

By definition net worth is the difference between the values of total assets and liabilities. To calculate the net worth, first calculate the total value of your assets such as stocks, stock funds, bonds, bond funds, cash in hand, savings, fixed deposits, retirement accounts, annuities, value of properties (movable and immovable), arts, collectible and jewelry. Then calculate the total liabilities such as mortgages, all sorts of loans, credit cards etc. Now reduce the second value from the first one and see what you get. If it is a negative value, you are doing badly in terms of finance. That means you owe more than what you have. This may be the best time for you to come up with the plan to make your net worth a positive value.

Anyway, majority of us would have a negative value for our net worth, especially if we don’t own an asset of a significant value or if we have taken mortgages against the assets we have. Not having a positive net worth also may be a psychological barrier for some individuals.

When it comes to the companies, net worth is calculated the same way but their assets can be little different. Sometimes, their assets and liabilities are called different names to be complied with some of the articulation standards in the business world. Their assets have “carrying value” which is defined as value expressed on the financial statements. Due to this reason, their assets may not have the accurate market value assigned in the financial statements so their net worth may not be accurate. Net worth should not be misunderstood as the market value of the organization and the latter is derived based on different factors.

Credit score is called in different names and calculated differently in different countries. Anyway, most of the countries have adopted the US way of calculating the credit score. Therefore, lets have a look at how the US credit score works. Although the calculation behind the credit score differs, the basics remain the same.

By credit score, a numerical value is assigned for person’s creditworthiness. For deriving numerical value, there are statistical formulas used for analyzing person’s credit files. If the credit score is high, it is interpreted as a high likelihood that the person who requires the credit facility will pay their bills. In the US, the credit score is based on the credit report information supplied by credit bureaus. There are three main credit bureaus in the US: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. When it comes to the credit score calculation, these credit bureaus have their own credit scores: Experien’s PLUS score, TransUnion’s Credit Score and Equifax’s ScorePower.

The most famous credit score formula was developed by Fair Isaac Corporation and it is call FICO. This is the method used by most of the credit bureaus for calculating their credit score along with their unique factors calculated in. Americans are entitled for a free credit report every year from one of the main credit bureaus. These three credit bureaus run a web site called annualcreditreport.com (only accessible from the US) as a collective effort and users can get their credit report for free. But the catch is that the users are not given the credit score for free and it is only available as an additional service where a fee is involved. Usually the FICO credit score range is between 300 and 850.

There are four main points to be considered when making an investment in the stock market. First; the Risk; how safe is your money? What’s the worst thing that can happen to your money and how can you possibly recover any loss? Second; the Return; what is your ROI (return of investment / rate of return)? Are you expecting an income from the investment or you just want your investment to grow in value so you can sell it later for a higher value? What are the guarantees for this income or the growth value? Has this company proved it in the past? Third; Access; how easy is it to get the money back? If you are to sell your investment, will there be people to buy it? If you sell your investment, are there any penalties to be paid? Is there any hidden cost involved in selling? Fourth; Charges; how much money will be taken as charges from your investment? Will those charges add any value to your investment short term and long term?

Yes, so many questions to be asked before you make your move. You may also have to consider whether the company you are dealing with is registered for any compensation scheme. Also, you should consider the tax schemes applicable for investments to see whether they give you the advantage you expect.

When it comes to stock market indices, the story is the same. Some indices take measurements from the entire stock market and some only measure a limited number of companies in the market for their performance. Therefore one market can have few indices focusing on different numbers of companies, different industries etc. One good example is Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). ASX has two indices as ASX100 and ASX200. There are 100 companies monitored under ASX100 and 200 companies for ASX200. But, all of the stock markets would have indices called “ALL share index” (a broad-based) and all the trading that take place in the stock market is subjected to this index.

There are many ways to determine the index price and indices can be classified on the method used for deriving the price. In a price-weighted index, the stock value of the subject stock is the only parameter for determining the index value. Dow Jones Industrial Average and NYSE ARCA Tech 100 Index are two examples of price-weighted indices. Price-weighted indices are very sensitive to the price changes of stock and even a small price-change of stock can make a significant difference in the overall index value. There are other three basic methods used for indices: market-value weighted, capitalization weighted and market-share weighted. In the first two methods, the size of the companies is the governing factor when it comes to the index value. When it comes to market-share weighted method, index value is weighted relative to the number of shares, rather than the value of shares.

PayPal is an e-commerce business which allows users to transfer money through the internet. It acts as not only the traditional way of transferring money but also as a means of electronic transfers up to a certain degree. User being in control for the transaction, availability, ease of use and being connected to number of financial institutions has made PayPal popular among the Internet savvy busy people. PayPal earns money by charging a fee for the transactions made by users. PayPal has three main types of accounts and they carry different facilities. When it comes to personal account, the limitations are high and others cannot make direct payments to your PayPal account using their credit cards. When it comes to other two types, there are less transaction limitations but transaction fees maybe higher.

Usually the fee charged by PayPal has two components. One is percentage of the transaction amount and the other is a fixed amount. There are five basic factors that decide the transaction fee you may have to pay for your transaction: the currency used, the payment option used, transaction originating country, destination country and recipient’s PayPal account type.

When it comes to the internet money transfers, the alarming thing is security. In terms of technology, PayPal uses a fully protected (using SSL) website for performing transactions. Also, their authentication mechanism is an advance process where email and credit card verification is included. This way, they make sure the user is a genuine user who has a valid credit card for transaction. But the nightmare happens from some of these “genuinely” registered users. Using their PayPal accounts, they try to defraud others. This is very much common among eBay auctions and PayPal users should thus, take great care when dealing with suspicious vendors/buyers.

In financial risk management, the main objective is to minimize the exposure to the risk rather than mitigating if exposed to. When it comes to risks, financial risk management is particular about credit risks and markets risks. What do we mean by credit risk? Credit risk is the risk which occurs when a debtor does not payback payments of a loan or any other line of credit such as credit card payments and this include both the principle and the interest. A market risk is defined as the risk that the value of a certain investment would reduce due to the market movements and other factors. There are four main factors that influence market risk; they are equity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and commodity risk.

Other than credit and markets risks there are a few other risks considered under financial risks: foreign exchange, shape, volatility, sector, liquidity and inflation risks. Yes, there is a number of other risks involved in financial risk management but above are considered the prominent and they carry more likelihood of occurring. When it comes to banking sector, Basel Accords are adopted internationally for tracking, reporting and exposing operational, credit and market risks. Basel Accords are a set of supervisory rules the bank can adopt for streamlining their risk management process.

When should the financial institutions use risk management? When it comes to the financial institutions, there are two main categories in terms of investment and the management point of view: shareholders and financial institution managers. Usually de facto is that, the financial institution managers should not manage risks that investors (shareholders) can manage for themselves at the same cost. So, risk management comes in to play at the places where the shareholders cannot manage risks at the same cost. The generally accepted concept is that market risks that result in unique risks for the financial institution are the best candidates for risk management.

The process of comparing products and prices in order to make a purchase is quickly becoming an expensive one because, typically it requires driving around to various retailers (don’t look at the fuel guage!) in order to make an informed decision. Did you notice how much time it took you? Arrived at the store too late? Traffic a mess? Not to worry.

Internet shopping offers you the convenience of not having to grab your car keys and it addresses the increasing restraints that time has put on us. After all, as busy families that don’t have time to cook meals, we’ve opted for the convenient and time-saving option of eating out or doing the all-too-familiar take out. Why not use our time wisely when shopping as well?

Shopping online allows us to shop globally and provides us with the opportunity to look beyond our local mall, town or city to even find better choices and deals out there.

Most of the currencies used in fictions bear little or no resemblance to the modern or historic money used by the human civilizations. Most of the science fictions take lead in introducing these currencies and they are often called credits. H.G. Wells introduces a currency called “Air Dollars” in his book “The Shape of Things to Come”. Air Dollars are a series of paper notes and represents distance, weight, bulk, and speed. The value of an air dollar is defined as: a cubic meter which weight ten kilograms and traveling two hundred kilometers at a speed of hundred kilometers per hour. Interesting!

Latinum is another currency used by the Ferengi in Star Trek. The unique characteristic of the currency was that it is not replicable by any existing or predicted replication technology.   Latinum was a liquid stored in gold strips in standardize amounts. When it comes to exchange media, Waterworld introduces dirt. Since the entire world is covered by water, dirt has a higher value and used as an exchange media. In the book “Future Timeline” written by Dr. Arthur C. Clarke, Energy is mentioned as an exchange media in the future world. In the novel “The Forever War”, kilocalorie is used for monetary transactions and it is based on human dietary needs. In “Ice Pirates” and “Arrakis”, water was used as the exchange media.

When it come to games there are so many interesting currencies used. Some of them are derived from ancient currencies used and some of them are copied from science fictions. For games, money plays a vital role in buying weapons, food, first aid kits etc.

Let’s discuss some of the techniques that can be practiced to save money when the credit cards are used. Let’s start with dining. This is one area where we use our credit card frequently. Although we do not notice, we spend a considerable amount of credit for eating at restaurants. Usually, credit cards offer discounts at certain restaurants and hotels. Sometimes not for the whole meal but for drinks, wines etc. Before you go on your next dinner outing, you can check the promotional booklets or the website of the credit card issuer to find out the discounts offered. Based on the restaurant type, the amount of discount and your budget, you can settle with one of the places in the list potentially saving 10% - 20% from your expenses.

One mistake the credit card holders do is to withdraw cash when there is a need for cash. This cash withdrawal comes with the surcharge of some percentage. As an example, for every cash withdrawal from your credit card, you may be charged some 2% as the cash advance fee so you end up paying more than you withdrew in addition to the interest for the whole amount (money withdrew + cash advance fee). This is a sure way to financial disaster.

Paying the full balance every month is one of the good practices for frequent credit card users. As we all know, if we don’t settle your credits in full with the deadline period, you will be charged an interest. To minimize this, settle the outstanding balance in full whenever you can. This way, you loose nothing but gain some cash advantage out of the promotions and discounts.