Investing

How Investing Started

In 12th century France the courtiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. Because these men also traded with debts, they could be called the first brokers.

        This changed in the 1600′s, when Britain, France, and the Netherlands all chartered voyages to the East Indies. Realizing that few explorers could afford conducting an overseas trade voyage, limited liability companies were formed to raise money from investors, who received a share of profits commensurate with their investment.The Dutch East India company was the first Joint-Stock company. A Joint stock company is a business entity which is owned by shareholders. Each shareholder owns the portion of the company in proportion to his or her ownership of the company's shares. 

Trading in the middle ages

Trading 

Before people used money to buy products, people traded items of value for things that they wanted to acquire. For example, if you wanted to get food, you would have to trade something for it, so many people got jobs and made things from raw materials to trade. Things people traded varied greatly, but some examples include, spices, clothing, paper, pearls, linen, and items like that.

 This is a good way of business for the seller, but not so great for the consumer. If the consumer didnt have anything of value, they couldnt get anything, but this also promoted jobs so people could make items of value. Also, this was very unsafe because travelers could get robbed of all of their goods. This lead to the creation of guilds to protect travelers. 

The federal reserve

The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United states. Its unique structure includes A federal government agency located in Washington D.C., and 12 regional reserve banks. These 12 banks are located in Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Louis. With the Reserve structured this way, It balances centralization with Regional presence. The Federal Reserve provides the government with a ready source of loans and serves as the safe depository for federal monies. The Federal Reserve Banks were created as instrumentalities to carry out the policies of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Federal Reserve Bank stock is much different from owning stock in a private company. The Federal Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, so ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the system. The stock can't be sold or traded or pledged as security for a loan, and dividends are, by law, limited to 6% per year. 

the rothschilds

The Rothschilds

The Rothschilds are a family of world bankers who descended from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who started his own bank business in 1760. Unlike most previous court Jews, Rothschild managed to use the wealth he acquired to establish an international banking dynasty through his five sons, that even surpassed the most powerful families of the era such as the Barings and the Berenbergs. The rothschild bank was at its height in the 19th century, where it is believed that the Rothschilds held the largest private fortune in the world, as well the the largest private fortune in modern world history. The Rothschild family fortune is believed to have slowly declined due to it being divided between multiple descendants. Today, the Rothschild businesses focus on a very diverse range of fields, such as finance, mining, energy, farming, wine, and charities. 

Rothschild Family Crest

Bitcoins

Bitcoins

The new form of currency

bitcoins are a new form of money that is completely digital. It allows people to purchase things online and also illegally because they are untraceable. They are used on black market websites like silk road, where people would purchase illegal narcotics, weapons, and even Hitmen. Even though they are used for illegal things, there are plenty of good uses for them, and there has been speculation that the economy will change to bitcoins eventually. This of course is very controversial because people are worried about the safety of their money, and there is very little knowledge of it throughout the general public.

How did the idea of money change from items to notes?

How money started

Money is anything that is widely accepted for the exchange of goods, services, and resources.

      Throughout history, the idea of money has changed drastically, and in the future will change even more. My big question is, "How has the idea of money changed through history?" Today i'm going to talk about how money started. Before money, people bartered, or traded goods for services or other goods. But, what happens if you dont have anything that the other person wants? This is why people created what is called "commodity money." Salt, rice, tea, tobacco, and cattle are all forms of commodity money. However, commodity money was hard to transport, and after that, people turned to coins. Metal coins were introduced around 5000 B.C. Once these were introduced, more and more countries started using it. Metal was used because it was easy to find and easy to make into coins, and since they had a certain value, it was easier to trade. Some of the first paper money has been dated back to ancient China, around AD 960.

living mindfully better in the digital age

In todays digital age, there are many more opportunities for bad things to happen to you. If people learn your passwords, they can steal your credit cards and all your money, your identity, and much more. People can also hack into places and pretend to be you. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prevent this from happening by creating difficult passwords, and staying as much away from dangerous things online as you can. Tehcnology is great, but it can also effect you negatively. Spending too much time online is not a good thing, it can effect your social skills, and your memory. Going outside and doing things will keep you healthier, and doing things like brainteasers can help keep your memorization. Also, dont post things online you dont want certain people to see because no matter what, there is always a way to see it. This could also effect getting jobs, or getting into colleges, so it is best to only put positive things about yourself online.

the big question

My big question is, how has the idea of money changed over time? I chose this topic because i find it very interesting, and i'd like to learn more about it. I want to know why people stopped using valuables to barter, and switched to paper, and why now we are doing a similar thing, moving from paper to almost all digital money. also, im considering a business career and i think it would be a good idea to see the origins of money and how it came to be. I want to know when the first banks started, and who came up with the idea, and when investing started and why it started. As a side topic, i want to talk about wealth and what it means to be wealthy, and how that idea has changed over time. Wealth today is not the same as wealth a long time ago because we value different things than they did.

government shutdown blog

What is the reason for the government shutting down? everyone is waiting for the House of representatives to make their budget but they aren't making one. The republicans do not like Obamacare, so they will not authorize the funding for the federal government. They are trying to make the democrats take away, or at least edit out what they dont like, out of obamacare. Democrats refuse to do anything to alter the bill, because they believe that it will lower the costs of the average americans coverage cost. so they are basically at a stalemate because neither side will do what the other side wants. 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/government-shutdown-healthcare-spending-analysis

syria 2

Recently in Syria there have been gas attacks and shootings on the Syrian people by the Government. Obamas plan is to ally with Russia and destroy Syrias Chemical weapons supply. In the New York times, Putin basically said America is not as good as we think we are, and that it is dangerous to view ourselves as exceptional. In my opinion, we should not strike. If we do, Russia might try to strike us and we dont want to get attacked for actions we took that we had no business being in.

What Putin had to say

syria

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/video-shows-rebels-launching-gas-attack-in-syria/

After the recent gas attack in syria, the US is being urged to respond. Secretary of state John kerry is calling it a cowardly crime, and moral obscenity. Assad is denying all allegations that he issued the gas, saying that it is "preposterous." I, along with most people, believe that it was definitely Assad. The Gas attack was a horrible tragedy, but i dont believe that we should respond. We should not respond because we have so many domestic problems that we need to solve before we worry about other countries problems. I understand that we are against Assads rule over Syria, but we need to worry about our problems first.

blog 2 - quotes

For my quote, I chose, "History is written by the victor." this quote to me is very true because we really only hear widely accepted history from the side of the winners. For example, in the American revolution, we only hear it from our side. We are told that the English were horrible and taxed us ridiculous amounts and that we were the good guys who revolted and gained our freedom. But if you heard the losers side, the british, they would say that we are terrorists and that we attacked our own people and leaders to get away. Which, in reality, is the truth.

I believe we study history for a few reasons. One, because we should learn where we came from and how we get here, and two, because we should learn from our past mistakes in order to not let history repeat itself in bad ways.

blog 1

This year i'd like to learn more about The Cold War and events leading up to it because throughout the last couple of years in history, that seems to be the one topic we really didn't cover that well. 

         My favorite book is the confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I enjoy this book because every time i read it, it makes me laugh. It is set in New Orleans, and based on a rather obese man who lives with his mother and his numerous attempts to keep a job and so much more. He struggles to do this because, in his mind, he is surrounded by imbeciles. It is a very entertaining book and i recommend it to most people. 

        My favorite movie would have to be either Inception, or the Prestige. Inception is a fantastic movie with a ton of twists, and once you think you've figured it out, something else arises to throw you off. What makes the movie so great to me is the fact that there are hardly any holes in the story. Everything can be explained. The Prestige, is also a great movie, about two battling magicians who are trying to ruin each others acts. Everything about the movie is great and entertaining. 

if i could live in another country other than the US, it would have to be England. I choose England because i wouldn't want to have a change too drastic. Of all the other countries, I think life in England would be as close as you can get.