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Finance

Finance is the application of the principles of financial economics to an inter-related set of monetary problems. Its aim is in the optimal use of financial instruments. In the case of a company, this generally involves balancing risk and profitability and is typically called managerial finance or corporate finance. Investment management is concerned with the identification of an optimal portfolio of assets, given a set of objectives and constraints, as well as with the valuation of assets. Finance can also be used by individuals (called personal finance), and by governments (called public finance). Finance can be used by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above disciplines are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments, with consideration to their institutional setting.

Finance involves:

Financial institutions and regulation

Financial markets and instruments
- Commodities - topics
- Stocks - topics
- Bonds - topics
- Money market instruments- topics
- Derivative securities- topics

Valuation
- Determination of the fair value of an asset
  - How risky is the asset? (identification of the asset appropriate discount rate)
  - What cash flows will it produce? (discounting of relevant cash flows)
  - How does the market price compare to similar assets? (relative valuation)
  - Are the cash flows dependent on some other asset or event? (derivatives, contingent claim valuation)

Corporate and Managerial finance
- Capital investment decisions - generally relating to a corporation's long term (fixed) assets and capital structure
- Working capital management - relating to current assets and short term financing

Investment management
- Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual - goals - time horizon - risk aversion - tax considerations
- Identify the appropriate portfolio: what to invest in - how much to invest - when to invest
- Identify the appropriate strategy: active vs passive - hedging strategy
- Measure the portfolio performance

Wealth management and personal finance
- How much money will be needed by an individual (or a family) at various points in the future?
- How is that need to be funded?

Public finance
- Identification of required expenditure of a public sector entity
- Source(s) of that entity's revenue
- The budgeting process

Finding Finance Articles

There are over 250 finance articles in Wikipedia. See list of finance topics or List of finance topics (alphabetical).

Finding related topics

External links

For an in-depth finance glossary, see Glyn A. Holton's riskglossary
For a Hypertextual Finance Glossary, see Prof. Campbell R. Harvey
For material covering three areas in finance - corporate finance, valuation and investment management, see Prof. Aswath Damodaran
For an an interactive corporate finance environment, see Prof. Rock Mathis
For articles on current corporate finance and investment issues, visit Oaktree Research, a financial education portal
For illustrative (simpler) worked examples covering several of these topics see teachmefinance
For introductory articles covering mathematical finance see quantnotes

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Lane Guide
Original and complete Lender, Creditor and Banking directory.
http://www.laneguide.com

Gomez.com
Useful ranking of online banks and brokerages by various criteria.
http://www.gomez.com/

The Paper Source
Resources for buyers and sellers of mortgage notes, and other income streams.
http://www.papersourceonline.com/

Dataware Solutions, Inc.
Provider of e-commerce and information system solutions for financial services.
http://www.dwsolutions.com

Information Research Network
Market research consultant.
http://www.irn-research.com/

Intex Solutions, Inc.
Supplier of structured securities data, cashflow generators and analytical solutions.
http://www.intex.com/

MissingMoney
Helps owners locate missing or abandoned assets.
http://www.missingmoney.com/

Investment Counseling, Inc.
Annual survey and study of the money management industry's business trends.
http://www.competitivechallenges.com/

CardTechnology.com
Global news surrounding smart cards and advanced card applications.
http://www.cardtechnology.com/

Association for Financial Professionals
Resource for financial professionals.
http://www.afponline.org/

Telekurs Financial
International data provider for real time quotes, corporate actions and business news.
http://www.telekurs-financial.com/

NYSeData
Serves as a portal for NYSE-related data.
http://www.nysedata.com/

Euromoney Data
Source of contact data for direct marketing, sales and research in the financial markets.
http://www.euromoneydata.com/

Fiserv Des Moines
Provides data processing solutions to over 210 financial institutions.
http://www.fiservdesmoines.com/

PFI Intelligence Bulletin
Monthly subscription based newsletter covering the UK Private Finance Initiative.
http://www.smi-online.co.uk/publishing/default.asp?body=../newsletters/pfi_intro.asp&status=current

Information Network Services
Provides data processing services for financial institutions.
http://www.ins-inc.net/

Bank Researcher
Company research and business information tool for the banking industry.
http://www.bankresearcher.com/

Intellasia Vietnam
Provides in-depth Vietnam reports on banking, finance, trade and investment.
http://www.intellasia.com/

BankFocus
Provides regulatory bank financial data for every institution in the nation.
http://www.bankfocus.com/

Sheshunoff Information Services
Provider of financial data and analysis, and information management products.
http://www.sheshunoff.com/

Financial.com
Offers financial data, analysis, and news pertaining to the American and European markets.
http://www.financial.com/

FactSet Research Systems
Supplier of financial and economic information to the investment management and banking industries.
http://www.factset.com/

ABSNet
A source for structured finance news, data, research and analytics.
http://www.absnet.net/

Financial Services Browser
Company research tool for professionals in the financial services industry.
http://www.financialservicesbrowser.com/

SkyMinder
Business and financial information about European and U.S. companies.
http://www.skyminder.com/

Ebis Direct
Provides company and financial reports, and document images.
http://www.ebisdirect.co.uk/

ec-WallStreet.com
Provides information and perspective on the world of finance.
http://www.ec-wallstreet.com/

MoneyWeb
Financial directory and resource guide.
http://www.moneywebsearch.com/

CRS & Co.
Provides trade reports for Irish companies and company searches in Ireland.
http://www.crscredit.com/

CPDF
Fosters professional development in the practice of finance.
http://www.cpdf.com

money-rates.com
Daily updates best rates on bank CDs, money markets, and savings account.
http://www.money-rates.com/

Wiesenberger
Providers of extensive US mutual fund data and software for investment analysis and marketing.
http://www.wiesenberger.com/

Wisenet Korea
Provides analysis tools for corporate, industry, and financial markets.
http://www.wsn.co.kr/

Morgan OnLine
Offers millionaire investors a wealth advisory relationship with J.P. Morgan.
http://www.morganonline.com/

Europrospectus.com
Provides searching within debt, equity and merger documents from around the globe.
http://www.europrospectus.com/

Geosegment Systems
Provides market data to banks, mortgage companies, and mortgage insurers.
http://www.geosegment.com/

First Line Data Solutions, Inc.
Provides mortgage lenders with broker and correspondent approval reports.
http://www.firstlinedata.com/

PrivateFinance-i
Provides business to business information with products spanning over 250 countries.
http://www.privatefinance-i.com/

GFC Economics
Provides independent economic research to the investment management community.
http://www.gfceconomics.com/

DefaultRisk.com
Credit risk modeling and measurement resource for corporate debt.
http://www.defaultrisk.com/

Maths.gr
Mathematical estimations and forecasting of economic sizes for business.
http://www.maths.gr/business

CFO.com Finance Center
Provides financial information and news articles.
http://www.cfo.com/finance/

NeuerMarkt.com
Provides all kinds of financial information from major capital markets.
http://www.neuermarkt.com/?LANG=en

US Financial News
Provides real-time financial news, market standings and investment research.
http://www.usfinancialnews.com/

Thomson Financial Securities Data
Business research on companies, markets and industries around the world.
http://thomson.com/financial/financial.jsp

Debt Marketplace
Resource designed for buyers and sellers of delinquent debt.
http://www.debtmarketplace.com/

E-Compliance
Financial regulatory information and referral service for financial firms.
http://www.e-compliance-inc.com/

Oxford Knowledge Company
UK research firm finding business information over the Internet.
http://www.oxford-knowledge.co.uk/

KuhnPartners Investor Relations Consultants
KuhnPartners Investor Relations Consultants
http://www.kuhnpartners.be/kuhncom/

WeNotifyYou
Provides management of businesses' critical document dates.
http://www.wenotifyyou.com/

BankersOnline.com
Provides banking content to financial services professionals.
http://www.bankersonline.com/

Business Monitor International
Provides analysis and forecasts on global emerging markets.
http://www.businessmonitor.com/

DerivativesModels.com
Site dedicated to providing information and resources for those interested in derivatives.
http://www.derivativesmodels.com/

MeansBusiness
Site organizes and manages the concepts and ideas found in recently written finance books. Users can purchase book extracts, book summaries, or suites of extracts which span several finance books.
http://www.FinanceAndProfitabilityBooks.com

Karen Gleason & Associates, Inc
Magazine rep firm for publications in the financial and technology industries.
http://www.karengleason.com/

Synergistics Research Corporation
Provider of research for the financial services industry.
http://www.synergisticsresearch.com/

FundData
Data company specialising in international closed-end fund information.
http://www.funddata.com

LJS Global Information Services
Provides a comprehensive collection of publicly offered U.S. corporate bond data.
http://www.fisd.com/

The Russell Indexes
Provides information on the Russell indexes.
http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/FINANCE/RussellIndex.html

FinanceWise
Search engine focusing on sites which possess content of interest to the financial world.
http://www.financewise.com/

Global Financial Training and Technology
Liquidity management, contingency funding, and, capital adequacy planning.
http://www.gftt.com/

SearchUP.com Finance Directory
A directory of financial related web sites
http://www.searchup.com/finance/

4Finance
Information on stocks, bonds, annuities, and mutual funds. Financial news and planning tips.
http://www.4finance.com/

JCF Group
Provider of services to the institutional investor and investment banking community.
http://www.jcfgroup.com/

Veribanc, Inc.
Provides bank safety ratings, research and analysis on U.S. financial institutions.
http://www.veribanc.com/

Risk Management Internet Services - Finance
Offers paid subscribers access to financial reference materials.
http://www.rmis.com/cd/mcfin.htm

Wilshire Associates
Provides portfolio analytics, investment consulting and asset management.
http://www.wilshire.com/

Finance Outlook
Provides information and resources for corporate finance executives.
http://www.financeoutlook.com/

Equity Research Associates
Independent economic research on the paper and forest products industry.
http://www.equityresearchassociates.com/

Christensen and Associates
Online financial community meetings and information resources.
http://onlineevents.com/

Financial Modernization Research Station
Links to resources about financial services regulators and industry groups.
http://www.insurance-finance.com/bank.htm

Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA)
International association with responsibility for coordinating and administering the international standards for ISIN (International Securities Identification Number), ISO 6166 and CFI (Classification of Financial Instruments) ISO 10962. Also sponsors the GIAM Project (Global ISIN Access Mechanism).
http://www.anna-web.com

Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing
Supplier of corporate, financial, marketing and economic databases and manipulation software, directories, technical, legal and bibliographic data.
http://www.bvdep.com

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