Stock exchanges are an essential part of the stock market as it allows stock brokers and traders a centralized location to trade stocks and securities. On top of the record keeping activities that stock exchanges provide, the corporation will issue and redeem securities as well as handle capital events like dividends for all of the stock that’s listed on the exchange.

In the old days, everything was done by human intervention but as technology improved, most stock exchanges handle the majority of all transactions electronically.

It is important to note that stock exchanges merely facilitates the buying and selling of stock, because a transaction is ultimately between the buyer and the seller. The exchange itself is responsible for matching buyers and sellers, but do not have an incentive to change the prices up or down, which is ultimately determined by market forces (supply and demand).

Picking the Right Stock Exchange

For most corporations who wish to become a public company, the stock exchange to apply for is primary dependent on the principal business address.  For example, it is trivial to list in the London Stock Exchange if your company primary does business in London.

However, the listing requirements of each stock exchange may also affect the decision.  For example, US corporations have at least two choices (I’m listing them out with its requirements here):

• New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – In order to be listed in this exchange, the company must issue at least one million shares worth $100 million.  Also, the company must have earned at least $10 million in the last three years in order to qualify.
• NASDAQ – A company that applies to be listed on NASDAQ must issue 1.25 million shares worth at least $75 million, and earn more than $11 million in the last three years.

Another determining factor relates to the herd mentality.  Since many technology companies list with NASDAQ, it plays a psychological effect for other technology firms to also list on the same exchange.

What Stock Exchanges Mean for Us

Most investors ignore the different stock exchanges unless the broker doesn’t allow trades on that particular exchange (a common restriction for international exchanges).  While stock exchanges perform a critical function in the stock market, the minor differences usually do not affect stock performances in any drastic way, which is the most important for investors.  Therefore, spend more time on the actual company instead of the exchange that it’s listed on unless you are trying to invest in the actual exchange via ETFs or index funds.

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American depositary receipt (ADR) was introduced in 1927 as a more convenient way for investors to buy and sell shares of foreign corporations. Put simply, ADRs represent a specific number (or fractions) of a share in a company that doesn’t already have a stock listed on the US stock exchanges and trade like a stock in the open market.

A Little Background about ADRs

Back in the days, it was very complicated to buy shares in different countries, which involved dealing with tax and currency issues. Subsequently, ADR was introduced to let U.S. banks buy shares from a foreign company and re-issue them on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Stock Exchange (AMEX) or the Nasdaq. During the introduction, the bank will also determine how many shares will correspond to each home country share. The reason why it isn’t a 1 to 1 relationship is due to the fact that banks want to price shares of ADR high enough to perceive substantial value and low enough for individual investors to take advantage. For example, exchange rates can make certain stock look like a penny stock, which will have a negative psychological effect on investors in the U.S.

A Reminder of Risks with ADRs

Other than the actual company that the ADR represent, investors should be aware of additional risks when buying into a foreign corporation. For example, there might be political risks in the home country that the foreign country is in. For example, if two countries start a war, you can bet that the prices of any ADR that is linked to those two countries will fall. While this is true for stocks in the U.S. as well, the additional risk in foreign countries is that you aren’t as sensitive with news abroad.

Also, currency plays a huge role in ADRs as shares are priced in U.S. dollars. For example, if the U.S. currency becomes stronger against the foreign countries’ currency, the earnings of the foreign company have to make up the difference before share prices will appreciate meaningfully. Of course, exchange rates can work in your favor as well. In an environment where the U.S. dollar is weak (and continues to become weaker), ADRs usually perform very well.

What does ADRs Mean for Us

ADRs provides investors a great way to diversify into foreign markets because it’s highly liquid, easy to manage and it trades just like any other stock. While there are brokerage firms like Etrade that will allow you to buy stocks in foreign countries, ADRs are available for everyone provided that the company you want to invest in has an ADR set up.

As an average investor who picks individual stocks, there is no reason why you shouldn’t look into ADRs. If you haven’t taken advantage yet, you are missing out since the additional diversification and ease of management is well worth it.

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Related Articles at Investing School:

• Investment Terms
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Connoisseurs of coins who prefer very large coins will be impressed with the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Its edge is receded which, in itself, is not out of the ordinary, and is much like any general coin of its type. But its diameter of 38.1 mm make this silver dollar a pleasure for collectors of large-sized coins.

Greatness is of course the imbued trait of this coin as it was minted from 1971 to 1978 to honor the 34th President of the United States, also a five-star general whose fabled World War II exploits have been immortalized in many books, both civilian and military tomes at that.

Other coins have been minted in honor of President Eisenhower, and which are totally different from the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. A $1 Eisenhower commemorative coin was minted in 1990 and another will come out in 2015 under the Presidential $1 Coin Program.

The Eisenhower Silver Dollar bears the design of Frank Gasparro who likewise rendered the coins reverse side with the Apollo 11 insignia, an icon to mark the moon landing in 1969. That was also the year that President Eisenhower also died, so this silver dollar has some sort of an alpha-omega interpretation.

The Eisenhower Silver Dollar did not see much circulation owing perhaps to its cumbersome size. However, it was minted again to mark the US bicentennial in 1976. This commemorative coin was designed by Dennis Williams who added the Liberty Bell to the reverse while maintaining the Apollo 11 tribute with the image of the moon. This one maintained the original size of 38.1 mm, however.

Significantly, the Eisenhower dollar was the last mintage to have base metal content proportionate to lower coin denominations. Its cupronickel content for instance is ten times that of the Roosevelt dime, four times that of the Washington quarter, and twice of the Kennedy half dollar.

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Hiring a professional moving company has much to recommend it; you can pick and choose among the services you want and can afford, to create a package that’s just right for you.

Most moving companies offer multi-tiered service packages, and some even allow you to create your own custom package. For example, if you don’t mind doing your own packing but want someone else to do the heavy lifting and cleaning, you can have that written into your contract.

The professional who is moving for business reasons is in an especially lucky position, particularly if his or her employer is footing the bill. Services for these clients go far beyond simply packing and unpacking, and can include everything from selling your existing home to finding the best schools for your children.

You’ll need to thoroughly check out any company before hiring them, of course. Each company should be vetted to your satisfaction, with viable references if possible. You should also search for any complaints or comments about them online, to see what information is available. These recommendations should also contain information on whether the companies were prompt, priced fairly, or added additional costs.

You may also want to ask the company themselves for references, and information on when their cheapest and most expensive times are to move. You may find moving midweek to be far more cost effective, as weekends often carry a premium.

Moving companies will also want to provide you with information about their insurance coverage; take the time to carefully review the options available, to ensure that the package you choose provides suitable coverage for your needs.

The company you eventually choose to move you will want to come out and inspect your home, to inventory what they’ll be moving and provide you with a quote based on the number of rooms to be packed and the contents in each, so you may want to declutter before they arrive.

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Making investments are the means by which we eventually reach financial independence and than abundance. Many financial and investment experts have often repeated the virtues of investment. However, with regards to earning passive income, most people are not as knowledgeable about it as they are in investment.

After investing, whatever remaining amount you have left come be used to spend on your other needs. So how do we create this kind of passive income?

Alright, let us now look into some ways in which we can create our passive income. And they way we can do this is through real restate. Specifically REITs, also known as real estate investment trusts.

So you might be asking to yourself now what are REITS? They are basically companies that are already listed publicly which does real estate. Many people wrongly think that REITs actually own their own real estates.

As mentioned earlier, it is not the case. Some REITs actually don’t own their own real estate. Instead, they would focus on services like mortgage cosultation,etc.

So what kinds of REITs are there? I’m glad you asked. We can basically REITs into two types. The first types of REITs are those having their own real estate and the second type are those without their own real eestate. Sounds simple enough so far right? Now let us further define real estate as buildings which can be residential, business, shopping malls,etc.

As for the REITs which do not own real estates, they usually focus on the service side of real estate investments. Some of these services are, but not limited to: credit facilities like mortgages, investing in securities and buying mortgages.

Ok, so after learning the basics of REITs, how do we invest in it? Firstly, you can invest in these REITs by buying shares from them. You can start small by buying a few shares first if you do not have much cash at first.

Alright so why is investing in REITs as a way to passive income recommended? Well, first off, REITS usually give back consistent good returns through their dividends. Potentially you can get back around eight to thirteen percent each year.

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