Microfinance Up on Agriculture Advance

The growth of agriculture is boosting the rise of loans and deposits at microfinance institutions. The decrease of non-performing loans led to financial sustainability of the institutions. Total lending and deposits increased while the non-performing loans (NPL) decreased.

Sathapana MFI’s total lending of US$51 million to 4,900 borrowers and the NPL rate decreased to 0.7% from 0.9% at the end of 2010, the firm’s deposit increased by 10% to US$10 million by the end of June. Hattha Kaksekar’s loans and deposits increased by 35% to US$56 million and 60% to US$9 million over the first six months of 2011 respectively.

In addition, Prasac MFI has seen the increase in loan portfolio by 63% to US$122 million while the NPL dropped to 0.8% from 1.44%. Microfinance largely contributed to macroeconomic stability by increasing rural income via lending, said Cambodian Economic Association President Chan Sophal.

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What you should know before you get on board

World Favorite Currency Site

Currencies are on gripping ride 

Lately, currencies have been on a rollercoaster ride with record breaking highs and lows. The world of foreign exchange is dominating news headlines; but what does it mean, and more importantly, what do you need to know before you get on board? 

First of all, it's important that you understand that trading the Foreign Exchange market involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of losing money. Any investment in foreign exchange should involve only risk capital and you should never trade with money that you cannot afford to lose.

What is Forex?

You may have noticed that the value of currencies goes up and down every day. What most people don't realize is that there is a foreign exchange market - or "Forex" for short - where you can potentially profit from the movement of these currencies. The best known example is George Soros who made a billion dollars in a day by trading currencies. Be aware, however, that currency trading involves significant risk and individuals can lose a substantial part of their investment. As technologies have improved, the Forex market has become more accessible resulting in an unprecedented growth in online trading. One of the great things about trading currencies now is that you no longer have to be a big money manager to trade this market; traders and investors like you and I can trade this market.

Forex in a nutshell

The Forex market is the largest financial market on Earth. Its average daily trading volume is more than $3.2 trillion. Compare that with the New York Stock Exchange, which only has an average daily trading volume of $55 billion. In fact, if you were to put ALL of the world's equity and futures markets together, their combined trading volume would only equal a QUARTER of the Forex market. Why is size important? Because there are so many buyers and sellers that transaction prices are kept low. If you're wondering how trading the Forex market is different then trading stocks, here are a few major benefits.

• Many firms don't charge commissions – you pay only the bid/ask spreads.
• There's 24 hour trading – you dictate when to trade and how to trade.
• You can trade on leverage, but this can magnify potential gains AND losses.
• You can focus on picking from a few currencies rather then from 5000 stocks.
• Forex is accessible – you don't need a lot of money to get started.

How is Forex traded?

The mechanics of a trade are virtually identical to those in other markets. The only difference is that you're buying one currency and selling another at the same time. That's why currencies are quoted in pairs, like EUR/USD or USD/JPY. The exchange rate represents the purchase price between the two currencies.
Example: the EUR/USD rate represents the number of USD one EUR can buy.
If you think the Euro will increase in value against the US Dollar, you buy Euros with US Dollars. If the exchange rate rises, you sell the Euros back, and you cash in your profit. Please keep in mind that forex trading involves a high risk of loss.

Important: be aware of the risks

Finally, it cannot be stressed enough that trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for everyone. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. Remember, you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment, which means that you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. If you have any doubts, we recommend that you seek advice from an independent financial advisor.

Related Article: What's Currency Trading?
* Five simple rules for financial success 
* Why successful projects need value and risk management?

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What's Currency Trading?

World Favorite Currency Site

Currency Trading and Forex Tips

Currency trading can have a couple of meanings. If you want to learn about how to save time and money on currency transfers, visit XE Trade. These articles discuss currency trading as buying and selling currency on the foreign exchange (or "Forex") market with the intent to make money.

How Forex Works

The currency exchange rate is the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another. It is always quoted in pairs like the EUR/USD (the Euro and the US Dollar). Exchange rates fluctuate based on economic factors like inflation, industrial production and geopolitical events. These factors will influence whether you buy or sell a currency pair.

Example of a Forex Trade:
The EUR/USD rate represents the number of US Dollars one Euro can purchase. If you believe that the Euro will increase in value against the US Dollar, you will buy Euros with US Dollars. If the exchange rate rises, you will sell the Euros back, making a profit. Please keep in mind that forex trading involves a high risk of loss.

Why Trade Currencies?

Forex is the world's largest market, with about 3.2 trillion US dollars in daily volume and 24-hour market action.  Some key differences between Forex and Equities markets are:

• Many firms don't charge commissions – you pay only the bid/ask spreads.
• There's 24 hour trading – you dictate when to trade and how to trade.
• You can trade on leverage, but this can magnify potential gains and losses.
• You can focus on picking from a few currencies rather than from 5000 stocks.
• Forex is accessible – you don’t need a lot of money to get started.

Why Currency Trading Is Not For Everyone

Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for everyone. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. Remember, you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment, which means that you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. If you have any doubts, it is advisable to seek advice from an independent financial advisor.

Read more in:
* What you should know before you are on board?
* Five simple rules for financial success

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5 Simple Rules for Financial Success

There are five rules for simplifying your way to financial success. They work for everyone, all the time. If you resolve to follow them, you may not get rich in 2011, but you'll certainly be positioning yourself to get rich in the future.

1. Speed up your savings.

The fastest way to riches is to save more money now. It's far more effective than chasing higher investment returns. For example, say that you're putting away $500 a month and raise it to $600. That's a 20 percent gain in your retirement account. Where else can you get a guaranteed increase like that today? If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, you probably think that you can't save another dime, but you can. Arrange to have the extra money taken out of your paycheck automatically -- either through payroll deduction or by using your online bank account to have money moved into your savings account every time a paycheck comes in.  You'll discover, to your surprise, that your lifestyle won't change. You'll simply adjust your spending -- a little here, a little there -- to make up for the money that's no longer in your checking account. It's the only known magic in the world of personal finance. Some people living paycheck-to-paycheck are earning $250,000+ a year (remember the "I'm-not-rich" outcry when they thought that their taxes might go up?). The higher you live on the hog, the sorrier you'll be if you hit retirement without enough money to keep your gold-plated lifestyle going.

2. Use the tax code to ramp up the size of your retirement account.

I'm constantly running into employees who save enough to get the company match of 3 or 5 percent of pay, and then quit. Why would you do that? Better to pack your automatic savings into a tax-deferred retirement plan.  Tell your company to take more out of your pay, or sign up for automatic annual increases if they're available. Some companies offer Roth retirement plans -- you don't get a tax deduction for your contribution, but the earnings accumulate tax-free. That's a deal I'd take. If your company doesn't offer a retirement plan, create your own. Pick a low-cost mutual fund group and ask about its Individual Retirement Accounts. The self-employed should consider solo 401(k)s or SEP-IRAs.

3. Switch to index investing.

Give up the illusion that you're smart enough to beat the professionals whose trading sets the market's price. They love you to think that way because they charge you high fees to try -- wrap fees, insurance fees, annuity fees, marketing fees, brokerage fees, account fees, etc.  You can't help but underperform, after all those costs. Tons of research shows that mutual fund managers don't beat the market either, over time. They might ride some hot stocks for three or five years, which is when they'll roll out the advertising and get you to invest.  Then those hot stocks cool and they fall behind. You'll be paying your manager to miss. How does Wall Street get away with it? Because most do-it-yourself investors have no idea how well their stock-picking or fund-picking performs. You remember your winners, forget your losers, neglect to average the two of them together, and so have no idea how well your results compare with general market returns. Odds are, you've done worse -- much worse. You'd be richer if you had dumped the lot into index funds. So give it up. Switch to index funds that follow the markets as a whole. Vanguard has the largest variety of super low-cost funds. You'll also find good index funds at Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and T.Rowe Price.

4. Divide your money between stocks and bonds in a way that's appropriate for your age.

Stocks should be included at any age. The cautious investors who stampeded into bonds after the 2008 market meltdown missed this year's 9 percent gain in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock average, and the 76 percent gain since March, 2009. One useful diversification rule is to subtract your age from 110. The number that results suggests how much of your total, long-term investments you could reasonably allocate to stock funds. So for example, say you're 60.  Subtracting that number from 110 gives you 50. You might put as much as 50 percent of your money into U.S. and foreign stocks and 50 percent into bonds. At age 40, you'd put 70 percent in stocks and 30 percent in bonds. Alternatively, invest in a target-date retirement fund, where the asset allocation will be done for you. At Vanguard, you can get target-date and index funds in a single package.

5. Rebalance your investments.

It's important to maintain your chosen division of stock and bonds. For example, say that your target is 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds.  If the market rises by so much that you're now 65 percent in stocks, sell some of those shares to bring the percentage back to 60 percent and invest the proceeds in bonds.  If the market drops so that stocks now make up only 55 percent of your portfolio, sell some of your bond shares and reinvest the proceeds in stocks.

Emotionally, rebalancing is hard because you're going against the herd. But financially, it's a winner. You're always selling high, buying low, and managing your risk. Don't bother rebalancing on small dips, though. Do it only if your target percentages fall 5 percentage points out of line.

It's impossible to rebalance intelligently if you own individual stocks and difficult with managed mutual funds, since it's never clear which ones you should sell or buy. So here's another advantage of working with index funds -- they make rebalancing simple. And target-date funds are rebalanced for you automatically.

Using this five-point program, you can forget about fickle individual stocks, complicated annuities that carry high (and sometimes hidden) fees, wrap accounts, and all the other offerings that will make only your broker rich. KISSes to all, in 2011.

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