Investors have been through difficult times. It is uncertain how long these uncertainties will continue. They have been seeing their portfolios tumble in a matter of days. It is hard to be immune from the vagaries of gyrating investing markets.

Global Investment

Quite often we hear about the need for minimizing the risks of investment. One of the recommended strategies is to diversify globally in the emerging countries. This is based on the assumption that the world is changing fast with new financial powerhouses in Asia, Middle East, South America and Europe.

It has been thought that the world is becoming less and less dependent upon US economy and that economic activity is moving away from US shores. The fall of US dollar and the continuing rise of Euro are cited as examples of dwindling stronghold of US finances on the global markets.

Global Demand is Still Driven by US

Second half of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 put stock and bond markets in turmoil. It is not clear whether the Fed rate cuts and US Government stimuli package will bring out the US economy from the woes of economic slowdown.

However, we have noticed one important thing and that is that the world capital markets are still driven by US markets. US economic slowdown is having an impact throughout the world. The way world stock and bond markets behaved soon after the turmoil in the US markets was a little surprising to the votaries of global investment.

The Rationale

How can we account for the steep fall in world capital markets and the subsequent rise?

We see that US is a huge market for Chinese exports. Any economic recession in the US means negative income. With less money in their pockets, the consumers will not be in a position to purchase more from China. This will impact Chinese exports and consequently its economic growth.

It was assumed that with growing involvement of Chinese economy with Europe, China will be less dependent upon US. However, with less income, US consumers will not be able to buy more from Europe as well. If US spends less in Europe, Europe in turn will buy less from China.

Same is the case with other economies. This only underlines the fact that US cannot be written away as yet. World seems to be deeply involved with US economy. Globally US is not only a major consumer and investor but also a leader in technology. So it seems that there is no escape from the affects of US economic changes for a long time to come.

Investors Beware

From the above the only lesson that we learn is that investors need to exercise more caution while investing globally. If economic conditions worsen in the US, there is no guarantee that we will remain unaffected while keeping our capital thousands of miles away.

World is still looking towards the US not only economically but also as a policeman. What is true internally may not be different externally. Investors have to put in place risk controls and launch businesses with due regard to the US economy and capital markets.

In the good old days, personal finance for most people meant simply balancing their checkbook once a week and making sure they had enough money in the bank to cover the monthly bills. Of course that was long before the days of multiple credit cards, electronic fund transfers, PayPal, and the dozens of other complicated financial transactions made by even the average person on a daily basis. These days, keeping track of person finances can be quite a chore and can often overwhelm you, leading to a less than perfect financial situation.

Modern life has created additional headaches in our daily lives, but fortunately it has also provided new tools to use to control them. Personal finance software is the best option for keeping one’s personal finances organized and up to date.

Personal finance software comes in many varieties, each offering a specific set of financial tools. The simplest forms simply keep track of multiple bank accounts, including credit card accounts. The most complete versions offer tax tracking, investment tracking, budget analysis, electronic banking and a long list of other features. How much you need depends on your situation and how closely you want to track your finances.

Most banks now offer free electronic banking to their customers. Make sure that whichever program you choose, it is capable of taking advantage of electronic banking. The vast majority of programs offer this feature as standard so you shouldn’t have to look hard. With electronic banking, you can easily check your balance, automatically download statements, transfer funds among accounts and have all your information seamlessly transferred into your electronic account register.

The two powerhouses of financial software are Quicken from Intuit Corporation and Microsoft Money. Both companies offer several versions of the program and generally offer the same features. The interfaces are slightly different and one’s preference will likely come down to which one appeals to you most. New editions are released each year to account for changes in banking and tax law and owners of the previous year’s edition will receive discounts to upgrade.

Another option that is growing in popularity is software that is kept entirely online. You never actually download a program to your computer and can access your information from any computer connected to the Internet, including SmartPhones. This is referred to as “cloud computing.” Some websites offer a low monthly fee to use the software and other sites are free and entirely advertising supported. Some people prefer this method for its convenience and other people stay away from these programs due to security fears.

Once you begin to use personal finance software you’ll wonder how you ever managed your finances without it. People become addicted to seeing the computer generated reports of exactly where their money goes each month. They often find this makes it easier to create a budget and stick to it. Even if you simply want to keep your basic checking account up to date, personal finance software is worth the small price.