Research and analysis in the field of investment is a necessity in today’s changing financial markets around the globe. Whatever the type of investor and kind of market, they simply can’t put their assets on risk without properly judging the scope and credibility of investment.

Being small investors has its own advantages and vice versa. You don’t have a big amount to lose and at the same time it requires extreme efforts to capitalize the profit opportunity from small investment.

A very simple investment for small investors is stock market. It is commonly misunderstood by the masses that stock investment requires big initial amounts, but that’s not true. There are some affordable options available for small investors to start with a small number of shares. If you are simply targeting the blue chip index and hoping to purchase a decent amount of shares, you should probably look for new and emerging companies that are indicating good future prospects.

Stocks are controlled by many factors. The fiscal year often influences how much a company generates revenue. It can however change as the business enters a new year. Some stocks are called seasonal, as there are companies which are in high demand in one season but not in the other season.

Government bonds and securities are a safe option as well for small investors because they don’t tend to change their directions a lot. But having said that you can’t just relax over it, rather you need o look at the facts and figures on timely basis. That means small investors do need to do their research and analysis before actually taking a position.

Investment research has its own divisions; fundamental analysis and technical analysis, both are as different in approach as they sound. Fundamental analysis deals with estimating value of any financial asset equals to current value of cash flows. A correct value of asset can assist in order to see whether the asset is “over priced” or “under priced”, for that one need to look at the financial statements of a company on regular basis. There are some other indicators such as its credit rating, business model, competition with rivals need to be look at.

On the other hand, technical analysis is the art of predicting future price movements. In this case, past index is studied to identify a possible trend and current index is analyzed to identify emerging trend. It is believed by many that history repeats itself and same is the case in technical analysis.

Investment research can be done after doing thorough research on the target commodity, but it requires special skills. There are many firms online which are providing investment research and analysis at affordable cost. In my opinion, it is a good option for small investors to get research services from these firms as they can provide more accurate and risk free information because these firms have dedicated expertise and a strong eye on the market than a trader.

iSource Biz provides customized and high quality services in areas of investment research viz. the Equity Research Analysis, Financial Analysis, Industry / Sector Research, Comparative Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Feasibility Analysis, Ratio Analysis etc.

The beginning of 2008 saw the US automobile industry under constant pressure. But when oil prices recorded all time high in July 2008, peaking at 147 dollar per barrel, it was the time when most of the car makers in US started to think of revising their policies. It was, however, all too late as the global melt down in financial market later in the year made severe impact on auto industry. As the recession started, demand for luxury cars of giant makers GM, FORD and Chrysler went down, that resulted in business loss of almost 60%. Big players were slipping into a possible bankruptcy case, and almost 3 million jobs were at stake, as the auto industry in US forms about 23% of GDP. There were ongoing discussions about making fuel efficient cars but this time it’s really at the point of serious consideration. All eyes are now looking at the US government’s bailout plan to save this industry.

There were rumors going on about financial assistance or a bailout plan recently, but now the present US president has clearly stated that all the car manufacturers who are seeking help from the government have to come up with strong viability plan which is in other words supposed to be in the form of big cut downs in the operational and productive expenses of these manufacturers in the years to come.

Let’s take a look at the financial results of all three manufacturers.

GM sold 9.37 million vehicles in 2007 globally (12% less than 2006) with revenue grossing $43.2 billion USD, but it has fallen to $37.9 billion this year (13% less than 2007). If we look at Ford’s financial figures for 2007, it shows a growth of almost 7% compared to 2006 with revenues touching $172 billion. It however slows down significantly in 2008 by about 11% with revenues reaching $154 billion. After that, comes Chrysler with a 3% loss of revenue in the current year as compared to 2006. Currently, unofficial sources say it is down to more than 20% from 2007.

Looking at the above financial results of all three giants, we can clearly see a bearish trend in the financial performance of all three manufacturers since the year 2006. Although Ford is fundamentally somewhat better then the two, it also seems to lose market share owing to strong competition from Toyota.  Their claims about the global financial crisis and credit freeze that are supposed to be causing all this trouble doesn’t sound meaningful, as in the same period from 2006 to 2008, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers increased their market share in US from 23% to 30% approximately. That makes sense when US president intelligently calls for viability plans rather than just aiding the industry after all it’s the stakeholders of these companies who need to diversify in this changing global market.

Research and analysis in the field of investment is a necessity in today’s changing financial markets around the globe. Whatever the type of investor and kind of market, they simply can’t put their assets on risk without properly judging the scope and credibility of investment.

Being small investors has its own advantages and vice versa. You don’t have a big amount to lose and at the same time it requires extreme efforts to capitalize the profit opportunity from small investment.

A very simple investment for small investors is stock market. It is understood by the masses that stock requires big initial amounts but that’s not standard, there are some affordable options for small investors to start with a small number of shares. If you are simply targeting the blue chip index and hoping to purchase a decent amount of shares, you should probably look for new and emerging companies that are indicating good future prospects.

Stocks are controlled by many factors. The fiscal year often influences how much a company generates revenue. It can however change as the business enters a new year. Some stocks are called seasonal, as there are companies which are in high demand in one season but not in the other season.

Government bonds and securities are a safe option as well for small investors because they don’t tend to change their directions a lot. But having said that you can’t just relax over it, rather you need to look at the facts and figures on timely basis. That means small investors do need to do their research and analysis before actually taking a position.

Investment research has its own divisions; fundamental analysis and technical analysis, both are as different in approach as they sound. Fundamental analysis deals with estimating value of any financial asset equals to current value of cash flows. A correct value of asset can assist in order to see whether the asset is “over priced” or “under priced”, for that one need to look at the financial statements of a company on regular basis. There are some other indicators such as its credit rating, business model, competition with rivals need to be looked at.

On the other hand, technical analysis is the art of predicting future price movements. In this case, past index is studied to identify a possible trend and current index is analyzed to identify emerging trend. It is believed by many that history repeats itself and same is the case in technical analysis.

Investment research can be done after doing thorough research on the target commodity, but it requires special skills. There are many firms online which are providing investment research and analysis at convenient cost. In my opinion it is a good option for small investors to subscribe to these firms as they can provide more accurate and risk free information because these firms have dedicated expertise and strong look at the market than a trader.

An example of these firms is iSource Biz, which provides Equity Research Analysis, Financial Analysis, Industry / Sector Research, Comparative Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Feasibility Analysis, Ratio Analysis.

BPO industry in the recent years has grown dramatically, and the outsourcing firms have found their markets not just in the USA but other developed countries of Europe as well. The main reason why all giant investment companies are looking to outsource is basically to cut the cost of research and analysis in their own facilities. But there are some more factors inducing these companies to outsource to Asian countries including:-

•       Enhanced focus on business core competencies
•       More sophisticated research techniques
•       Access to a pool of highly skilled human resource
•       ROI growth
•       Enhanced quality of service

Current Economic recession and market conditions in the USA and Europe are the driving forces behind this momentum due to which more investment companies are being attracted towards outsourcing.

Silicon.com has predicted that in the next six years, research and analysis outsourcing will be a significant boost to BPO industry. The fact is that, research and analysis market is growing at a rate of 46% which will turn into a $17billion opportunity by the year 2010.

Reduction in cost is making giant investment companies interested in outsourcing their research and analysis to Asian countries. Another reason is a large pool of qualified and skilled work force that is available to BPO companies, for example iSource Biz in Pakistan. These companies are able to provide research and analysis services at reduced cost compared to developed countries.

Many giant investment companies have already outsourced their research and analysis to Asian countries. Some of those companies are Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and JPMorgan Chase, and more activity is expected in the near future.