keeping up to date with the latest news through press and magazines.

The specialist press covers plenty of aspects of the financial services industry and the likes of ‘Money Which’ is typical of the coverage which is devoted to money matters in the UK. The mainstay of all the money concerns for over a century has been the Financial Times, where all the stocks and shares and indeed the FT Index reflect on the wealth of the country and the companies therein.

It’s a very comprehensive coverage which is regarded as the standard for those involved in finance. Read by those involved in the national economy to punters who might fancy a flutter with some new shares, this is the source everyone goes to. Magazines are also out there with articles in the likes of The Economist which provide a global view of finance across the world. As Britain is now regarded as the hub of the financial world, there are financiers and consultants who trade on the fact that they know their Threadneedle Street from their Trafalgar Square.

There is barely a day when there is not some kind of finance story in the press, but magazines such as Fortune have a more detailed analysis of the issues which govern the life of the business financial consultant. The reports on companies are particularly interesting to the investor, and indeed the consultant who is managing funds on behalf of a client. As has been seen throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, fortunes can be made and lost though stock market speculation and that is probably truer today than ever, Taking a risk on a stock is all very well, but good research is needed by looking at the press and magazine features before taking those risks. Of course there has to be some judgement on the validity of a press article and make sure it has not been created by a public relations company. It only takes a positive feature on a company in a prestigious magazine to send the stocks soaring. Equally a negative feature can result in huge losses for both investors and shareholders. The effect of good and bad publicity is something which some trade on and use to their advantage – that is, buy cheap and sell expensive!

Information in the financial services industry is central to trading in all its forms and having access to information is a great advantage. Such is the desire for information that it spills over into criminal actions such as insider trading.