Finance
hideFinance is the science of funds management. The general areas of finance are business finance, personal finance, and public finance. Finance includes saving money and often includes lending money. The field of finance deals with the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated. It also deals with how money is spent and budgeted.
Finance works most basically through individuals and business organizations depositing money in a bank. The bank then lends the money out to other individuals or corporations for consumption or investment, and charges interest on the loans.
Loans have become increasingly packaged for resale, meaning that an investor buys the loan (debt) from a bank or directly from a corporation. Bonds are debt sold directly to investors from corporations, while that investor can then hold the debt and collect the interest or sell the debt on a secondary market. Banks are the main facilitators of funding through the provision of credit, although private equity, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other organizations have become important as they invest in various forms of debt. Financial assets, known as investments, are financially managed with careful attention to financial risk management to control financial risk. Financial instruments allow many forms of securitized assets to be traded on securities exchanges such as stock exchanges, including debt such as bonds as well as equity in publicly-traded corporations.[dubious – discuss]
Central banks act as lenders of last resort and control the money supply, which affects the interest rates charged. As money supply increases, interest rates decrease.
For more information about Finance, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with financial
Medical 'pay for performance' programs help improve care -- but not always, study finds
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Like everybody, health care professionals enjoy a pay raise for a job well done. But in some instances, financial incentives for health care performance may actually backfire.
American Express takes aim at PayPal with Revolution
Nov 22, 2009 |
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With its deal to buy Revolution Money, American Express is taking aim at the growing market for online and alternative payments, in a challenge to recognized leader PayPal, analysts say.
Semiconductor giant Infineon upgrades outlook
Nov 19, 2009 |
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German semi-conductor maker Infineon on Thursday upgraded its turnover and profits forecast over the next 12 months because of higher demand from the auto industry and cost cuts.
Just in the time for holiday shoppers: Personal finance professor offers advice on breaking credit addiction
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An October survey of 3,800 consumers by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that more than two thirds (68 percent) planned to pay in cash for their holiday purchases this year, ...
The future of private equity
Nov 16, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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Although global private equity markets have fallen on hard times, reports of their imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. So says Steve Kaplan, a widely recognized authority on entrepreneurial finance and corporate governance ...
The global financial crisis is bad for more than just your pocket
Nov 16, 2009 |
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One in four Australian adults has taken an action that puts their health at risk as a result of the global financial crisis (GFC), according to a new MBF Healthwatch poll.
DU professor advises families to refocus for holidays to ease financial tension (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Nov 13, 2009 |
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Martha Wadsworth, associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver (DU), says during the holidays families should focus on what has been proven to matter most in psychological research - quality family time.
Intel settles AMD claims but isn't off the hook
Nov 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Intel Corp. is paying Silicon Valley rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. $1.25 billion to squash a legal battle over Intel's sales tactics, a rift that led to antitrust charges against Intel in several ...
Study: Credit crisis, debt load a double whammy for investment
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Firms with heavy long-term debt that came due amid the nation's recent credit crisis slashed investment more than three times as much as companies whose paybacks ducked the meltdown, a new University of Illinois study found.
Failing the sniff test: Researchers find new way to spot fraud
Nov 09, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Companies that commit fraud can find innovative ways to fudge the numbers, making it hard to tell something is wrong by just looking at their financial statements. But research from North Carolina State University unveils ...
PayPal courts outside developers
Nov 04, 2009 |
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PayPal has opened its software platform to outside developers in a move designed to unleash a flood of creative uses for the online financial transaction service.
Study shows that sleep disturbances improve after retirement
Nov 02, 2009 |
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A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that this general improvement in sleep is likely to result from t ...
'Technology' plays large role in wealth inheritance
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 30, 2009 |
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A new study reveals the important role inherited wealth plays in sustaining economic inequality in small scale societies. A team of 26 anthropologists, statisticians, and economists based at the Santa Fe Institute in New ...
How will bundling impact dialysis units nationwide?
Oct 30, 2009 |
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The proposed Medicare "bundled" payment system for dialysis is likely to reduce government reimbursements for dialysis units in certain regions of the United States and for some types of facilities, according to research ...
Motorola's shares surge with unexpected profit (Update)
Oct 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The turnaround effort long sought at Motorola Inc. finally could be on track.
