The focal point of the paper is to compare and contrast a website article and a book on the parameters of management of investments. For the purpose, two different texts are taken into consideration. The first one is ‘How To Manage Your Investments In Turbulent Times’ by Janice Revell, published in the Money Magazine on October 24 2007. The second text is ‘The Money Book: Smart Ways to Manage Your Money & Make it Grow’ by Annette Sampson, published by Allen & Unwin on 2007. Both the texts deal about investments and its managements from the perspective of the general mass who are interested in share markets and relevant investments.
Revell indicates that any large business house, consumer expenditures or governmental schemes may borrow public money in the form of selling shares. It is the function of large financial institutions, such as banks, to issue or generate credit transactions. A smooth inflow of credit between the borrower and the lender is what establishes ideal market conditions. A credit crunch occurs when there occurs a lack of obtainable credit in the market and the borrowers cannot find adequate finance. Usually such a phenomenon happens when the creditors are unwilling to invest more money or hike up their interest rates to such exorbitant levels that it becomes virtually impossible for the lender to borrow. The central question, then, is why do the creditors suddenly refuse to invest more money? Actually, far from being an isolated fact, it is a part of a complex chain reaction.
The author feels that the lenders reel under deficit money supply when they fail to realize the interest or even the actual capital they had invested on companies or institutions, which accrued a disastrous amount of losses. Such loss incurring companies cannot return the money they had borrowed from the creditors and have to default payment. However, when the prices begin to fall, even the bank has to sell out at considerably lower prices and suffer huge losses. The author finds solution in 401(K) game plan. He mentions, “if you have a decent time horizon and you’re diversified, your best bet in a volatile market is to simply let your 401(k) do its thing. Resist the urge to mess with it. You won’t regret it” (Revell, para 15) The entire article is focused on the game plan and effective measures to counter recession and thus manage investments in a better manner.
On the other hand, Sampson presents an overall view of the money market with emphasis in the aspects of peripheral evaluation of the investment market. This text, like the former one, is directed to the general and casual investors. The author makes note of the developing recession and indicates that the financial market has been loosing, more than making money. The consumers in USA have been living beyond their earnings. They have been constantly borrowing money to pay for their houses and sustain their everyday requirements.
Most of the asset prices, like the cost of houses, have elevated rapidly, making it a huge burden on first time purchasers. The lenders have been practicing securitization, where they have clustered the poor-quality loans by mixing them with some good-quality mortgages, and selling the whole thing as a package of debt. They have also lessened the criteria for giving a loan. Under such parameters, the author mentions, “Their value appears to be rising and it’s easy to feel pleased with yourself and with your investment strategy” (Sampson, 119). However, it quickly reined that the basic of the money market is not a simple aspect and caution is the best policy in the given time in terms of managing investments.
However, it is interesting to note that the affects of investment management dealt in both the text is directly related to the general mass and the aspects of credit crisis is linked straightforwardly to these issues. It can be stated that in the event of magnifying unemployment and inflation of the present time, the Federal Bank cannot afford to sit still. It has to fight for a stable equilibrium in prices and combat unemployment. The most innovative plan to diminish the credit crunch has been to increase lending with the motivation tom restore liquidity to troubled markets and look after the demands of the inter-bank loaning facilities. The current crisis made the Federal Bank to decrease the interest rates on lent amounts and lengthen the time limit for the repayment of the loan. “Term Auction Facility” was adapted as a scheme for slow banks through which loans at a cheaper rate could be made available from discounts windows and the deals were guaranteed anonymity.
Thus, the relevance of these two texts is direct and effective in nature. However, Simpson is very positive in this respect though it is mentioned that it pays to be cautious. Sampson states, “The younger you are, the longer you’ll have to recover from any poor investment decisions, which means you can probably afford to take more risks” (Sampson, 122). The main aspect of Sampson text is mainly about positive vibe about ‘money management’ whereas, Revell sticks to a game plan as a bailout measure of investment management during crunch time investment.
Works Cited
Revell, J. “How To Manage Your Investments In Turbulent Times”. Money Magazine 2007: CNN-Money. Money magazine. NY. Web.
Sampson, Annette. The Money Book: Smart Ways to Manage Your Money & Make it Grow. New York: Allen & Unwin, 2000.