SIX Swiss Exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zürich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being Berne eXchange). SIX also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as stock options.

The main stock market index for the SIX Swiss Exchange is the SMI, the Swiss Market Index. The index consists of the 20 most significant equity-securities based on the free float market capitalisation.

The Swiss Exchange was the first stock exchange in the world to incorporate a fully automated trading, clearing and settlement system in 1995. The exchange is controlled by an association of 55 banks. Each of these banks have equal voting rights in the matter of decision making concerning the management and regulation of the exchange.

SIX is the joint owner of Eurex, the world's largest futures and derivatives exchange along with their German partners Deutsche Börse. In July 2004 however the SIX rejected a merger proposal from the German company, that analysts anticipated as profitable for many small companies enlisted on the SIX.

The exchange has a blue-chip index as its principal stock market index. The Swiss Market Index (SMI) comprises a maximum of twenty of the largest and most liquid large and mid-cap SPI stocks.

BM&F Bovespa

The BM&FBovespa (Portuguese pronunciation: [boˈvespa]; in full, Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias & Futuros de São Paulo) is a São Paulo-based stock exchange. It is the fourth largest stock exchange in the The Americas in terms of market capitalization, behind NYSE, Nasdaq, and Toronto Stock exchange. It is also the thirteenth largest in the world in terms of market capitalization (see list of stock exchanges). On May 8, 2008, the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) and the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange (BM&F) merged, creating the new BM&F Bovespa.^[1] The BM&F Bovespa is linked to all Brazilian stock exchanges, including Rio de Janeiro's Boverj (BVRJ), where only government bonds are traded. The benchmark indicator of Bovespa is the 50-stock Índice Bovespa. There were 450 companies traded at Bovespa as of April 30, 2008^[2].

On May 20, 2008 the Ibovespa index reached its 10^th consecutive record mark closing at 73,516 points, with a traded volume of USD 4.2 billion or BRL 7.4 billion.^[3]

BM&F Bovespa has offices in New York, Shanghai and London.

NASDAQ

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations known as NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. It is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States. With approximately 3,800 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume per hour than any other stock exchange in the world.^[1]

It was founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), who divested themselves of it in a series of sales in 2000 and 2001. It is owned and operated by the NASDAQ OMX Group, the stock of which was listed on its own stock exchange in 2002, and is monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With the completed purchase of the Nordic-based operated exchange OMX, following its agreement with Borse Dubai, NASDAQ is poised to capture 67% of the controlling stake in the aforementioned exchange, thereby inching ever closer to taking over the company and creating a trans-atlantic powerhouse.^[2] The group, now known as Nasdaq-OMX, controls and operates the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York City -- the second largest exchange in the United States. It also operates eight stock exchanges in Europe and holds one-third of the Dubai Stock Exchange. It has a double-listing agreement with OMX, and will compete with NYSE Euronext group in attracting new listings.

Warren Buffett Book Reviews

The following pages of Warren Buffett book reviews contain details of publications that contain some of the most important business and investment advice ever set onto paper.

Who else would you take advice from about investment?

Warren Buffett is quite simply the master of this game and his strategies are or should be of massive importance to anyone who wants to understand investment.

It is my personal opinion that whilst he is clearly the most successful investor who has ever lived, he is actually a business philosopher. By reading some of his thoughts or essays, it quickly becomes clear that Warren Buffett is a very deep thinker.

Unlike others, his deep thoughts have been focused on business, management and investment. When carried out over many decades, these thoughts are like a library of knowledge.

Ok - I am waxing a little too lyrical. Can you tell that I am a fan?

And if you plan to be a profitable investor, you should become a fan too!

As ever, working through the publications discussed in these Warren Buffett book reviews will take time and effort. These are more like a job or retraining with a new education than relaxing evening reading. But hey - working is where the money is!

Best advice? Buy the books and slowly work through them. Take the time you need to understand their concepts and you will become a much better investor.

Buy a high-end scientific calculator - you'll find you need it to fully understand the math he does in his head! - and start to read around the topic of value investment. It could be the most profitable thing you ever do.

Good luck!

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Warren Buffett Speaks by Janet Lowe

Buffett The Making Of An American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein

The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom.

Buffettology by Mary Buffett and David Clark

The Essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Investors and Managers by Lawrence Cunningham

Understanding Bull And Bear Market Situations

Summary: This section of the site discusses what are, and how should an investor behave, in both bull and bear markets. Useful information relating to bear markets is not easy to find and we hope to begin your education about this frightening market and point you in the direction of important further reading.

Understanding some of the basic facts about bull and bear market behaviour and charachteristics is sound advice that any newcomer should follow.

Clearly, the movements and underlying economics of each type of market is very different from each other and is discussed in this section of the site.

For many investors, especially relatively new ones, the current market situation - no matter what it may be - can appear to be the way that stock markets have always been. However, this isn't the case. Over the years - and the US market has been in existence in one form or another for over 100 of them - there have been some violent movements in price and prolonged periods of both prosperity and despair.

It should be noted that in trying to analyse both bull and bear market features, no two have been the same. They almost certainly last for differing periods of time, are caused by different things, require different investment strategies and can create and destroy wealth in different ways.

In other words, understanding how either a bull or a bear market might work and move is very important.

Unfortunately, here at StockExchangeSecrets.com we do not have a crystal ball that will perfectly define or predict coming rises or falls in markets. Instead, we shall try and provide a brief but useful overview of these important terms and conditions.

To read more about bull markets, please visit:

To read more about bear markets, please visit:

Bear Market Definition

What Is A Bear Market?

Bear Market Investing Strategies

Secular And Cyclical Bear Markets

The Great Crash 1929 by J.K.Galbraith

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Who Was Ralph Elliott?

Ralph Elliott had the type of career that would be astounding even today...

He is remembered as the father of The Wave Principle, now known as the Elliott Wave Principle which is a number analysis system which can be used to predict many things in life, including market movements.

Elliott was born in Kansas in 1871. In his early career he worked for around 25 years as an accountant, often in executive positions. Many of these positions were held in Central America and Mexico. He learned skills of financial management and corporate reorganisation. In 1924 he became Chief Accountant for Nicaragua.

Later in life he was struck by illness and turned his attentions to analysis of the stock market. He was completing a goal that he had expressed in a book he had written about Latin America: "There is a reason for everything, and it is [one's] duty to try to discover it."

Investigating the possibility of form in the marketplace, Elliott examined yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly and half-hourly charts of the various indexes covering 75 years of stock market behavior. In 1934 his observations began to form a set of principles about wave movement and the application to stock prices.

In 1946, his finest work was published, Nature's Law - The Secret Of The Universe. The first 1000 copies sold out quickly to financial analysts and the position in history of Ralph Elliott was set. His research is now used by thousands of fund and money managers around the world to assist their decision making.

In the modern financial world, the leading interpreter of wave priciples is Robert Prechter.

To read more about Elliott Wave, please visit:

Robert Prechter

Elliott Wave Theory

More Elliott Wave Theory Information

What Does A Stockbroker Do?

Summary: This section describes the work and services offered by a stockbroker or a brokerage firm. They can be thought of as the lubricant that makes various parts of the stock market work smoothly together. We also discuss how their services might be suitable - or not - for you, the individual.

A stockbroker has the role of being in between buyer and seller when a stock or share is traded. It is they that enable the trade to be completed smoothly.

If it were not for such a middleman / matching service, we would all need to spend months hoping that we somehow crossed paths with someone who was willing and able to trade stock in the same company as us and at a price we found acceptable.

Clearly, there is a need for these middlemen (and women!) in order to enable the smooth running of a stock exchange.

As you will from the pages below, there are a number of different service and business models. However, for a broker to make money, they generally charge a fee in the transaction. In the case of stocks, the difference is called the 'bid/offer spread'. This means that the price quoted to you has a commission built in.

To remember which term is which, try this: 'bid to get rid'. This means that the 'bid price' is being offered to entice you to sell your holdings. The offer price is being 'offered' to you to make you want to purchase.

Though with the recent advances of the internet and the impact that new technology is having on hundreds of industries, the traditional role of a stockbroker is being changed. New online only firms enable trades and information exchange at very low costs and with almost instantaneous precision.

As explained elsewhere on this site, there are generally three levels of service. These are:

Execution Only Stockbrokers

Advisory Management Stockbroker

Discretionary Management Stockbroker

Also related to this topic are:

Internet Stock Broker

Stockbroker Commission

Discount Stockbroker

Stockbroker Misconduct

Stockbroker Fraud

Stockbroker Churning

A question to ask a stockbroker

How To Choose A Stockbroker