Online forex currency trading

Stock markets are a delight of many an investors. There is no other way to get quick and higher returns than investing in the stock markets. Stock markets, in response, have a wide variety of instruments which an investor can do trading on. Forex currency trading is one such option.

Value of a currency varies every now and then, according to the economic conditions and several other factors prevailing in a country and hence exchange rates between two currencies always fluctuate. A foreign currency bought when its exchange rate is low can be sold when its exchange rate is high, gaining the difference as the return. The principle of Forex Currency Trading is exactly the same. In this era of internet, Forex currency trading can be done completely online. Online Forex currency trading enables one do trading from anywhere in the world (geographic independence).

Though currency trading has the same risk as any other trading through stock markets, the risk can be reduced through proper research and inputs. Fabforex.com is one site that gives thoughtful insights on currency trading, insights which really work. They have a huge collection of articles and research reports which give important information on currency trading. New articles are posted frequently, which makes people updated about various opportunities that are present at the moment.

Next generation blogging

Today, with millions of blogs across the internet world, I guess blogging has finally come of age. When I started blogging, it was just an online journal; with out any additional features such as polls, RSS feeds, email subscriptions or anything like that as it exists today. Blogging has advanced so much so that I keep wondering where it would be a couple of years from now. What all features could various blogging platforms adopt so as to make blogs look more professional and feature rich? That’s when I came across thoughts.com!

Thoughts.com allows people to create their own free personal blogs. But what it makes them different from other blogging service providers is that, together with creating blogs, one can also upload photos, videos, pod casts etc. and also do chatting in their site. They also have community forums where people can discuss about a bunch of interesting stuff and access latest news from various geographies.

When it comes to blog posts, they also allow people to be selective on their individual postings; like if they want their posts to be public, private or viewable by selected people. All comes with an unlimited bandwidth for accessing the blog. I guess thoughts.com has taken blogging to the next level, which would be something other blogging service providers can learn from.

Savings Accounts

Savings accounts are used by people to save the extra money they have, after all the expenses are met. Money in savings account can be used at times of financial crisis or may be to save and buy something in the future, without taking a loan. Hence it is a good practice to own a savings account and start depositing in it.

WaMu is one of the institutions that provide customers with various Savings Accounts options such as Online Savings, Statement Savings, Traditional CD, Online CD, Liquid CD etc. Through Online Savings and Online CD, one can open an online savings account and can manage it online; with online statements. The checking account of a person can be linked to the savings account with Automatic Savings Plan through which extra money will be transferred to the savings account which will earn extra interest income on the otherwise idle money.

Certificate of Deposits (CDs) yield a higher interest rate as the deposits are made for longer terms. It also has the option to be managed online, which is through the Online CD. To provide the much needed liquidity to the customer, there is a Liquid CD as well. Thus, CD is an attractive option available to people if they can plan upfront for a huge purchase, as it gives a higher return. Due to the vast range of options available, I guess WaMu Savings Accounts are the best bet for people who want to save and invest.

The Finance Blog

Doing some marketing for my other blog. ;-)

For the financially inclined and the interested, The Finance Blog. Please have a look...

Working the IT way

My company has been acquired by another one and its changes all around. The biggest of all and the one that’s taking a toll on me is the change in office timings. Previously it used to be 8.5 hours per day and now it is 9.5 hours! And considering the traffic in Bangalore which takes almost two hours of my time traveling to office, it wouldn’t be a surprise that I reach home totally worn out.

A couple of year’s back I had a correspondence with my professor, who taught us a course called Legal Aspects of Business, regarding working hours of employees in the IT industry. As you know people in the IT industry (especially fresh graduates) are made to work for long hours in the office. Here, I saw a stark contradiction with the labor laws in the country which prevents employees from working more than 8 hours a day.

Lemme copy-paste here the mail conversation we had. I hope my professor wouldn’t mind me doing it.

Jithu wrote:
Hello Sir,

Hope you are doing fine. My name is Sujith and I belonged to the class of 2006 of IIMA and had attended your LAB sessions. :-). Indeed informative they were.

I had a doubt regarding the labor laws of India and I am sure you can give a comment on it. The doubt is regarding the working hours of employees in IT companies. Is it governed by the same Factories Act of 1948 (http://indiacode.nic.in/fullact1.asp?tfnm=194863) or some amendments have been made to this act for IT companies to follow? Most of the IT companies force people to work till late night (more than 9 hours a day). Isn’t it illegal according to this act?

I hope you are not much busy with acads to clarify my doubt.
Thanks & Regards,


Prof. wrote:
Thanks for the email Sujith.

Please remember that all these labor laws are meant for the ‘labor’ (blue collared) and people about whom you are mentioning (white collared) are not covered under the definition. There is no law to fix hours for the working of executives. Labor laws are enacted to prevent exploitation of poor, whereas executives are capable enough of protecting themselves, hence, there is no law for them.
Regards,


Jithu wrote:
Sir,

Thank you very much for the clarification.

Somewhere feel bad when I see guys who are recruited directly from engineering colleges are put into work up to around 17 hours a day in various IT companies. I strongly feel they also require protection. Executives are supposed to be capable of protecting themselves, but the question is whether they are actually able to do that or not. The question becomes who is being exploited here.

Once again, thank you very much for your prompt response Sir. :-)
Have a nice day..


Prof. wrote:
To take it a bit further.....
Engineers who work for 17 hours have a choice to join a company which pays less and makes them work for lesser hours. It is a choice which the engineers have themselves made out of their own sweet will. Senior management professionals/govt. officers/military officers/business persons, etc. are on the job 24 hours.
For labor, there would be no such work available and employers would exploit them, hence the law.
Regards,


Jithu wrote:
Yeah that’s true Sir, they do have a choice. Can be considered as something they choose for themselves for the handsome bucks they earn.

What you said is true Sir; the act is not meant to put a limit to the working hours, but to prevent exploitation.

Sir, if I could talk a bit about the choice part. Even though they have a choice, most of the IT companies out there, work in the same fashion. Also India is an unemployment high country that most of the times; it’s a matter of getting a job than anything else and people tend to choose the option that’s at hand without thinking much about the working hours and nowadays it has become kind of a norm in IT companies.

Thanks very much for these valuable insights Sir.
It was nice to be in touch with you once again.. :-)

Sujith

So, working for long hours is something which we IT guys choose by ourselves. But my question is how many of us did that by a choice? Did we have options? Somewhere I feel our situation is much more pathetic than the blue collared employees. Do we now need a law for protecting people working in IT?

Hmm.. Guess, I have no other options but to adjust myself to the new timings... So here I am at the office everyday at 9 am till it rings 6:30 pm!

PS: How long will it take for one to complete a short story? Well, for me its two years and is still not over!