外汇现货市场占全球外汇交易量的近三分之一，总体上可分为两个层面：银行间市场，在这里货币买卖在两天内交付和结算，银行充当了“批发商”或“做市商”的 角色。由私人交易者和机构(主要包括基金和银行)组成的零售市场，交易者通过中介（经纪公司）通过电话或互联网进行交易。

外汇市场没有集中的交易场所，所有的交易都是柜台交易，由个人交易者自行协议和结算。外汇市场是真正意义上的全球市场，从周一到周五，一天24小时运转。 每日交易从新西兰的惠灵顿开始，随着太阳运动依次到悉尼、东京、香港、新加坡、巴林、法兰克福、日内瓦、苏黎世、巴黎、伦敦、纽约、芝加哥、洛杉矶，然后 又重头开始。

当我们做外汇买卖时，银行及时报价的买卖间点差直接影响我们汇民的收入，前不久，晨报曾经刊登过美元直接买入日元，还是买入港币再买入日元。通过我们的计算得证：美元买入港币再买入日元好，那么从整个银行报价来看不是所有的币种都是这样，比如：美元买入澳元，１００００美元÷０．５２２６＝１９１３５．０９澳元，美元买入港币再买入澳元，１００００美元 × ７.７９５５÷４.０７６５＝１９１２３.０２澳元，前者比后者多１２.０７个澳元；如果折合成美元买入澳元的价位，即１２.０７澳元×０.５２２６＝６.３１美元，这样就多了６.３１美元。这里有个公式供大家参考：用银行的卖出价减买入价再除以买入价，就是我们交银行的手续费。

1997年以来，随着互联网的发展，在线外汇保证金交易已经风靡世界，成为外汇交易的流行方式，不仅银行间交易已开始采用在线方式，个人也越来越多的通过互联网参与外汇交易市场。

在线外汇交易的发展，打破了地域的局限，使得原来必须依赖本地经纪商才能参与外汇交易
的个人和小型机构投资者，可以更加方便的进行外汇投资。

2000年12月，美国通过了《期货现代化法案》，这一法案要求所有外汇交易商必须在美国期货协会（NFA）和美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）注册为期货佣金商（FCM），并接受上述机构的日常监管，在期限内不符合资格或没有被核准的外汇业者将被勒令停止营业。这一法案的出台，使得在线外汇保证金交易走上了规范发展的轨道。

目前，已经通过美国CFTC（商品期货交易委员会）注册的外汇交易商有（按通过时间先后）FXCM、MGFG、GAINCAPITAL、CMS—FOREX等。

MG金融集团是世界上最早提供网上外汇保证金交易的三家公司之一，致力于使个人和公司用户都能够通过互联网开展外汇交易。MG金融集团打破了高保证金存款和私人关系网等传统障碍，而这些障碍都曾存在于外汇交易市场中。

MG金融集团卓越的技术优势和完善的市场经验提升了在线外汇交易的标准。MG金融集团自1992年开始提供外汇交易；而在网上交易尚处襁褓的1997年，本公司就已经确立了其在线外汇交易服务业中的领先地位。
通过独领风骚的自由交易平台，MG金融集团的高精技术使投资商得以随时随地迅速接入外汇交易市场。DealStation™，首屈一指的精选交易系统，为在线外汇交易创设了标准。

在传统市场中，投资者进入外汇交易市场的唯一途径是通过进行大量商业和投资性货币交易的银行。MG 金融集团将低保证金和高融资结合起来，从而革新了银行间货币市场的运作方式。我们通过向小额投资者敞开外汇交易之门，向他们提供进行独立高效交易所需的专业工具和服务，使这项革新成为现实。
MG金融集团能有今日的规模，得益于在小额外汇市场中的运作。我们严格坚持以专业水准接待客户，恰如其分地运用银行间的交易规范，在全行业中创造了最为专业的运作环境。

MG金融集团向全球80多个国家和地区的客户提供服务，其中包括风险投资商和战略交易商。无论是寻求短期收益的短线交易商，还是希望对冲美国境外资产风险的基金管理商,能通过使用MG金融集团的交易平台DealStation™，精确的图表和数据以及客户服务，使他们从外汇交易中获益。进出口商、国际有价证券财产管理者、跨国公司、投机商、交易商、长期持股人、以及对冲基金等，都能利用外汇市场来支付商品和服务、交易金融资产，或者通过对冲货币在其它市场中的风险，以降低货币波动带来的风险。

Virtual Stock Exchange is an online simulation trading game where you build and manage your own portfolios and compete in games against your friends, classmates, colleagues or other players – risk-free!

Whether you're new to the U.S. financial markets or a seasoned trader, this is a powerful tool for building skill, testing and refining your strategy, or gaining important investing experience.

Virtual Stock Exchange is free and easy to use. Simply complete the brief registration form, choose or create your games, and set up your portfolios to include stocks and funds traded on the NYSE, Nasdaq and AMEX exchanges. We've even provided extensive research resources and current market news from MarketWatch to help you make informed decisions

Renting a car can enhance the flexibility of any trip – be it business or leisure. (You may want to consider renting a car when making arrangements for any trip.) This information explains the process of renting a car and provides some practical advice.

FINDING THE RIGHT CAR RENTAL FIRM
Ask your ASTA travel agent to help you find the right car rental firm for each trip. Different firms serve different cities throughout the world. A travel agent can save you the time and effort of calling several different companies to find the best rate and car for you. Also, a travel agent may be aware of promotional rates and special programs that may not be advertised to the general public.

THE COST OF RENTING A CAR
Car rental firms generally charge four types of basic rates: a daily rate with a mileage charge; a daily rate with a limited number of free miles per day; a daily rate with unlimited mileage; and a rate that has free mileage over an extended period. Rates vary according to the size and style of vehicle but most firms rent economy, compact, intermediate and deluxe cars. Special promotional rates are often available, especially over weekends, but these should be specifically requested in advance.

Other charges may also be added to the rental price, including:

If you rent a car from an international car rental agency, you can probably reserve your car by calling a toll free number or visiting the company's web site (see list). You will be quoted a price and given a reservation number. Typically a car rental agency will give you a 10% discount off the regular price for any of a variety of reasons. When you pick up your car in Mexico, the clerk will often attempt to write the contract for the full rate unless you object. If you made the reservation in the U.S., you were probably quoted a price in dollars and of course in Mexico the charge will be in pesos so you will need to be prepared to check the rate in pesos. Here's one way you can breeze through the process:

Consumers weighed down by high debt loads, low savings rates

WASHINGTON - Consumers, weighed down by high debt loads and low savings rates, increased borrowing last year by the smallest amount in 13 years, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

The government said that borrowing on credit cards, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt rose by 3 percent in 2005, down from rates above 4 percent in the previous three years and a 7.7 percent surge in 2001. It was the smallest increase since a 1 percent rise in 1992.

Consumer borrowing ended the year on an up note, rising at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in December following a weak 0.3 percent rate of increase in November and a plunge of 4 percent in October, a decline that reflected a big drop in auto sales.

By JONATHAN BURTON
MarketWatch
February 5, 2006

Good things have come to those who equal weight.

Equal weighting is a strategy that gives the same importance to each and every stock in an index. In the case of the popular Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, that means equal weight for stocks from giants Exxon Mobil and General Electric all the way down to computer maker Gateway and auto-parts supplier Dana, lately 499th and 500th in terms of corporate stock-market value, or capitalization.

For years, this approach has been quietly outperforming the well-known S&P 500 indexed offerings that dominate the mutual-fund industry -- the funds you probably own, where big companies affect returns more than small ones.

But you needn't rush to replace your garden-variety index fund with a tweaked, equal-weighted version. There are drawbacks to the tweaked approach. And some think the old warhorses are about to make a comeback, as big stocks catch up with small ones.

Thanks to a strong rally in smaller companies (and weakness in larger shares), the equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 index has topped its market-capped cousin in each of the past six years. In 2005, for instance, an exchange-traded fund tied to the strategy, Rydex S&P Equal Weight ETF (RSP), gained 7.4% while a like-minded mutual fund, Morgan Stanley Equally Weighted S&P 500 Fund (VADAX), added 7.5%. The cap-weighted Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX), meanwhile, rose 4.8%.

这个java软件支持触摸屏的POS机，功能比较齐全。很适合餐馆使用。
Tina POS is a point of sale application designed for touch screens, supports ESC/POS ticket printers, customer displays and barcode scanners. Its multiuser and has a great backoffice with a product entry form, reports and charts.

Contributed-By: John Price (johnp at sherlockinvesting.com)

This article offers a brief survey of several strategies that investors use to guide their stock purchases and sales.

Before we start the survey, here's a golden rule of investing: Know why you are buying a particular stock -- don’t wait until its price goes up or down to think about it. Many investors are not sure why they bought a stock in the first place, so when a dramatic fall in price happens, they're not sure what to do next.

Here's an example. Let's say you bought Intel. When you know why you bought Intel you will have a stronger basis for knowing what to do when its price goes up, or down, or even stays the same. So if Intel starts to go down in price and you bought it as a momentum play, then you will probably want to sell as quickly as possible. But if you bought it as an undervalued stock, and if the fundamentals have not changed, then you might want to buy more."