Lawrence Said:

Would people work in banking/finance industry more likely to success in their own investments than others?

We Answered:

It's about like Gamblers who work in casino's. You would think they would do better, and they should, but they have the same down falls if not worse than others who usually lose there.

Being to close to a situation can cause you to lose important perspective on it. Objectivity and Knowledge are equally important, well if you have no knowledge nothing works, but saying you have some, objectivity is extremely important. People sell themselves all the time, then see where their logic was flawed later on.

You have to be like a Panther to make it without some other beast eating your lunch or just killing your whole investment. You watch, check for predators, know the terrain, check for predators again, understand the movements of the prey intricately, and when, and NOT until everything lines up, you jump, pounce, and run away with the kill to eat it WAY UP IN A TREE where it's safe, totally away from the market ... get what I mean?

Check things out carefully, watch for Sharks out there who give you bad info, check trends and what the prey (stock) is doing by checking fundamental business factors which affect it, trends in the market, market sector, company, and in government ... when it all comes together get that stock! Watch it for a while, then get the hell out with a profit, and run away from the market for a while. Then do it all over again to make, or lose, more, lol.

If investment is easy for you, then you will probably lose, bad. If it is hard and exhaustive, tedious and seems like you waste a lot of time watching and waiting, then you will probably win, if you have any kind of feel for it.

And like the young panthers, you will probably miss more than you get at first. Hunger drives and practice sharpens instincts which improves your skill. If you are not a born killer, you will probably die of starvation, but if you have that thing, you will probably be able to make it pay off ... though the market and bad stuff might kill you off (break you and destroy your will to invest any more) anyway.

Michele Said:

How well does BillPay from Online Banking work?

We Answered:

It works great! I pay the vast majority of my bills through online bill pay. Just make sure to set the date so the payment arrives a day or so before it's due. I usually sit down one afternoon a month and schedule payments for the whole month, then the bank sends them out at the proper time. It's great for when you go on vacation, everything takes care of itself.

I write about 3 manual checks a year now!

Gregory Said:

How does banking work in the US?

We Answered:

The banking rules in the U.S is probably not much different from that of Hong Kong. I assume your goal here is to use the account as a way to expedite business transactions. If that is the case, using Paypal is ideal. The reason it's ideal is because you can connect your PayPal account to your current account in Hong Kong and still accomplish the same thing as having an account in the U.S. Everything is done thru electronic transfers these days so having an account in the U.S will not provide you with any advantage. You can also open an account at a U.S bank such that of Bank of America in Hong Kong and accomplish the same thing.

Glen Said:

How does Fractional Reserve Banking work?

We Answered:

With full reserve banking, the bank has to hold as many dollars as it has in deposits. For example, if somebody puts $100 into a savings account or CD. The bank must keep $100 in their reserves.

With fractional reserve banking, the bank only has to hold a certain percentage of their deposits, and can loan out the rest. For example, if a bank is required to hold 20% of their deposits in reserves, and somebody puts $100 into a savings account or CD, the bank must hold $20 in reserve, and can loan out the other $80. This creates a money multiplier effect, where the $80 loaned out eventually finds its way to another bank in one form or another. That bank then holds $16 in reserve and loans out $64. This is, in it's most basic form, how money is made.

Without fractional reserve banking, banking does not work. In order to make money, a bank must make loans, which they are then paid back with interest. If they must hold 100% of their deposits in reserve, they cannot make loans. If they cannot make loans, they cannot make money. If they cannot make money, then they cannot pay interest on the savings accounts and CDs. If the bank cannot pay interest on savings accounts and CDs, there is no reason to deposit the money in the first place.

With fractional reserve banking, you do run the risk of a run on the bank. In this scenario, depositors feel that they bank is going to go out of business, and they all try to withdraw their funds. Since the bank only has a certain percentage of their money on hand, they cannot honor all their obligations. This scenario has largely been addressed by the FDIC, in which the U.S. government guarantees deposits up to $250,000.

Lena Said:

How does a banking work?

We Answered:

to open an account, you must deposit and maintain a certain amount of money at the bank. as time goes the money would grow through the interest it gives.