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Financial advisers stress that there are several money lessons everyone in their 20s should know. For example, start saving at least 10 percent of your monthly income. Changing your financial state requires a kind of time travel to commune with your future self. Where do you want to be in 10, 20 years? Are you on the right path, or heading in the wrong direction? The time value of money-that is, how savings, investments and debt levels compound with the passing of years-means that money habits, good or bad, created when we start to earn cash echo into the decades that follow. And a whispered bit of wisdom up front can keep you from howling over your mistakes later in life. We polled our NerdWallet network of Ask an Advisor certified financial planners about the greatest regrets and lessons you should learn in your 20s, 30s and 40s. Taken together, these could be considered 12 steps toward securing your financial future. And they all hinge on two keys skills we must learn-and often relearn-in our money lives: prepare and stick to a budget, and establish good savings habits. We'll address the 30s and 40s later this week, but first: your 20s. "Understand that the world has changed. You will be more responsible for your financial future in regard to earning a living, retirement planning, funding and investing, health insurance coverage and costs and less coverage through government programs," says Jerome Deutsch, managing director of U.S. Institutional Markets for Index Strategy Advisors in Decatur, Georgia. "Learn, plan and live mindfully and with a long-term perspective. It may not sound like fun, but you have a long life ahead of you."

The World Bank's most recent Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, released this week, says a global economic recovery is underway, underpinned by strengthening output and demand in high-income countries. Global GDP growth in 2014 will be 2.8 percent and it is expected to rise to about 4.2 percent by 2016, according to the report, which the World Bank publishes twice a year. Average GDP growth in developing countries has reached 4.8 percent in 2014, faster than in high-income countries but slower than in the boom period before the global financial and economic crisis of 2008. Demand side stimulus or supply side reforms? The global economic slowdown that struck in 2008 was caused by a financial crisis that resulted in large part from the bursting of an enormous, fraud-ridden mortgage lending bubble in the US. The crisis led to varying responses in different countries. The GEP report's authors said that in general, developing countries privileged demand stimulus policies over structural reforms during the past several years. For example, in 2008 to 2009, China implemented a four trillion-renminbi ($586 billion) stimulus program as a direct response to the slowdown in global trade caused by the global financial crisis. Critics pointed to over-investment in China as a risk to continued fast growth. The country is now struggling to contain a real estate bubble of its own. The World Bank wants China and other emerging countries to refocus on structural reforms. "A gradual tightening of fiscal policy and structural reforms are desirable to restore fiscal space depleted by the 2008 financial crisis," the bank's chief economist, Kaushik Basu, has said. "In brief, now is the time to prepare for the next crisis."

Large banks and trading firms are frantically trying to determine whether they have fallen victim to a suspected commodities fraud emanating from the giant Qingdao Port in northeast China. Citigroup and several other large Western banks are concerned that their loans may lack the appropriate collateral, big stockpiles of copper and aluminum at the port. The banks have inspectors on the ground who are trying to assess whether enough of the metals are there. The worry stems from suspicions that a Chinese companies pledged the same collateral for multiple loans. Chinese authorities are investigating the matter. The case could have broad repercussions for the commodities market and the Chinese economy. Banks have funneled billions of dollars into the Chinese economy through these murky transactions, and commodities prices have been falling over concerns that such lending will dry up. Western banks, including Citigroup, are bracing for any potential fallout. Just months ago, Citigroup fell victim to a multimillion-dollar fraud in Mexico. If the Qingdao developments harm the bank, regulators and shareholders are likely to press it to explain why its controls had failed again. Chinese companies are at risk, too.

The holidays were great for Amazon and lousy for UPS. The two are linked and are a good illustration of two problems we'll face more often as the web meets the real world. Shipping giant UPS failed millions of customers this holiday season, missing the delivery of "a small percentage of its packages" on the Christmas Eve, according to a statement it released on Tuesday. Meanwhile on the day after the Christmas Day, e-tailing giant Amazon is crowing about signing up more than one million Amazon Prime members last week and that it registered record number of orders. Later Amazon said it would offer shipping refunds on packages affected by the UPS delays. Both events are linked, and here is why.

The think tank Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts the UK economy will outstrip France and Germany within two decades even if Britain stays in the EU. But while leaving the organisation would have initial negative consequences, the CEBR's chief executive Douglas McWilliams suspects "that over a 15-year period, it would probably be positive." Britain is set to vote on a referendum on EU membership in 2017. The report predicts the UK's GDP will first move to fifth place ahead of France by 2018 before leapfrogging Germany around 2030. However, despite being forecast to be the second most successful of the Western economies after the US, it will fall behind the accelerating economies of India and Brazil. "Germany is forecast to lose its position as the largest Western European economy to the UK around 2030 because of the UK's faster population growth and lesser dependence on the other European economies," the report said. But added: "If the euro were to break up, Germany's outlook would be much better. "A Deutsche Mark-based Germany certainly would not be overtaken by the UK for many years if ever." It added that a factor driving the UK's move ahead of Germany is the assumption of a falling value for the euro, Germany's falling population and the UK's rising population. The gap between the two countries will fall from almost £610billion in 2013 to just £183billion in five years. The UK's GDP will grow from more than £1.59trillion in 2013 to £2.6trillion in 2028, compared to China which is predicted to be in top position with a GDP of more than £20.5trillion, ahead of the US with an estimated £19.7trillion Japan will fall from its steady position in the global league of third to fourth by 2028, overtaken by India and followed by Brazil, Germany and the UK. The positive report on the economy comes as a poll reveals more people believe they would be helped rather than harmed by a rise in interest rates. A survey reveals that a pre-

Do you can see it coming? The return on 10-year U.S. Treasuries skyrockets, the S&P 500 remains down for 9 out of the last 11 trading days and disturbing economic reports pour in from all throughout the globe. The much expected "financial correction" approaches rapidly, and investors start heading for the exits. We have not experienced so many foreboding financial signs all converge at one time like this since just before the last major financial disaster. It appears as though a "perfect storm" is brewing, and so much "smart money" has already abandoned stocks and bonds. Could we possibly be headed toward another frightening financial crisis? Will we see a replay of 2008 or prospectively an even worse crisis? Naturally, so many people believe that we will never again experience another major financial catastrophe like the one in 2008. So many people think that this kind of "doom and gloom" talk is idiotic. Those types of people are those who did not see the last financial crash coming and who choose not to prepare for the coming one in spite of the extremely clear warning signs. Let us expect the best; but let us also get ready for the worst - and, right now, things do not look bright at all. The following 18 signs give strong support that global financial markets are headed toward a horrendous death spiral...

There are two types of shares, ordinary shares and preference shares. * Ordinary shares are the most familiar type of shares and have flexible dividends (dividends that are adjusted in relation to a company's profit). These shares also allow full voting rights. * Preferred shares carry fixed dividends, which must be paid before any dividends are paid to ordinary shareholders. However, preferred shares do not allow voting rights. Remember that when dealing with shares in the stock market as we know it, it will practically always be involving ordinary shares and this should not be a very big issue!

Ryanair has followed up its pledge to "not unnecessarily piss people off" by trimming some of its most excessive charges, this consists of baggage fees and penalties for not printing a boarding pass. The initial actual measures announced from the time when chief executive Michael O'Leary completed a Damascene change to better customer service will also comprise more tolerance of slight booking errors, less irritating announcements onboard and permitting passengers a second small piece of hand luggage with them on the plane. Ryanair said that, after extensive customer feedback on its website, it would introduce several improvements over the next six months.

What is a stock dividend? A stock dividend is the payment a trader obtains from the company he/she is presently investing in. The company pays the dividend from the earning it acquired within its financial year. Hence, if the company does not make a profit, dividends are not likely to be given to the investor. The dividend is generally paid in two parts, an interim and a final dividend. This means an investor who has shares in a company for one year; he or she will ordinarily obtain two lump sum payments annually (most often as cash payments). To collect a dividend, you must have the stock before the ex-dividend date. The dividend is given to the investor on the payment schedule set by each individual company. The dates can be obtained from a company's official website in the investor relations section.

Janet Yellen said in prepared remarks to be delivered in a confirmation hearing on Thursday that the Federal Reserve helped restart the economy after the recession, but still there's more work to be done. "We have made good progress, but we have farther to go to regain the ground lost in the crisis and the recession," reads the statement. Yellen is at present serving as vice-chair on the Federal Reserve Board, she is nominated by President Obama to succeed Ben Bernanke as head of the central bank. Bernanke's second term ends January 31, and in spite of the protests from a few Tea Party members, Yellen is mostly anticipated to be long-established for the position before then. Ten in the morning Eastern, Thursday, her hearing before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled.

Reasonable, convenient PayPal commercial loans can now be availed of, thanks to alternative business lender, BusinessCashAdvanceGuru.Com. Small companies can be eligible to loans from $5,000 to $500,000 with interest rates as low as only 1.9 percent with no accompanying credit investigation. Small commercial lending has dropped significantly from the Great Recession. All over the country, small-sized businesses are now discovering working funds, business loans, and expansion capital as difficult to acquire. "Forty-five percent of the 515 business-people who joined the advocacy group's survey said availability of loans and credit at affordable rates is a hurdle for their companies. Access to funds was most hard in the Northeast, where 53 percent of the owners said it was difficult to obtain. In the West, 49 percent considered it a major obstacle, followed by 44 percent in the South and 37 percent in the Midwest," reported the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Unilever frågor vinst varning över kollapsande valutor i "framväxande marknader" Unilever, Magnum glass till Dove tvål jätte, utfärdade en vinst varning i natt, skyller de kollapsande valutorna i så kallade "framväxande marknader" som Brasilien och Indien. Samtidigt trots varma ord från västerländska politiska ledare på att förbättra ekonomiska data, sa det utvecklade marknaderna förblev "platt ner". Som ett resultat, varnade det för en €500m (£417m) brist i försäljning detta kvartal. Framväxande marknaden valutor har rasat under de senaste månaderna i väntan på Federal Reserve avsmalnande av dess kvantitativa lättnader program. De med stor budget och bytesbalansen underskott har drabbats värst. Unilever sa det nu förväntas det aktuella kvartalet underliggande försäljningstillväxten för att komma in på 3 till 3,5 procent. Investerare hade tidigare förväntade tillväxt på 5 procent. Valutorna i Brasilien och Indien, som ha krossat särskilt illa av oro för deras ekonomier, har ont Unilever särskilt dåligt som de är två av sina största globala marknader. Indonesien är en annan stor ekonomi som har uppträtt dåligt för företaget. Unilever har lidit av utländsk valuta flyttar till stor del eftersom dess framväxande marknader regioner köpa råvaror i dollar med sina lokala valutor. Unilever förutser att den framväxande marknadsekonomier BNP-tillväxt, en omvandlad till årsplanet 9 procent under första halvan av året, nu har sjunkit till 6 procent. Även om Unilever är först i sin bransch av snabbrörliga konsumentvaror att varna på dess tillväxttakt, grupp sport Adidas knackade ut en liknande alert i mitten av September, med hänvisning till av samma skäl. Marknader är chockade av tillkännagivandet, till stor del eftersom det inte har utfärdats tills efter aktiemarknaden hade stängt för kvällen. Siffrorna hade bara kommit till ljuset från sammanställa alla septembers månatliga Försäljningsst

Unilever, Magnum glass till Dove tvål jätte, utfärdade en vinst varning i natt, skyller de kollapsande valutorna i så kallade "framväxande marknader" som Brasilien och Indien. Samtidigt trots varma ord från västerländska politiska ledare på att förbättra ekonomiska data, sa det utvecklade marknaderna förblev "platt ner". Som ett resultat, varnade det för en €500m (£417m) brist i försäljning detta kvartal. Framväxande marknaden valutor har rasat under de senaste månaderna i väntan på Federal Reserve avsmalnande av dess kvantitativa lättnader program. De med stor budget och bytesbalansen underskott har drabbats värst. Unilever sa det nu förväntas det aktuella kvartalet underliggande försäljningstillväxten för att komma in på 3 till 3,5 procent. Investerare hade tidigare förväntade tillväxt på 5 procent. Valutorna i Brasilien och Indien, som ha krossat särskilt illa av oro för deras ekonomier, har ont Unilever särskilt dåligt som de är två av sina största globala marknader. Indonesien är en annan stor ekonomi som har uppträtt dåligt för företaget. Unilever har lidit av utländsk valuta flyttar till stor del eftersom dess framväxande marknader regioner köpa råvaror i dollar med sina lokala valutor. Unilever förutser att den framväxande marknadsekonomier BNP-tillväxt, en omvandlad till årsplanet 9 procent under första halvan av året, nu har sjunkit till 6 procent. Även om Unilever är först i sin bransch av snabbrörliga konsumentvaror att varna på dess tillväxttakt, grupp sport Adidas knackade ut en liknande alert i mitten av September, med hänvisning till av samma skäl. Marknader är chockade av tillkännagivandet, till stor del eftersom det inte har utfärdats tills efter aktiemarknaden hade stängt för kvällen. Siffrorna hade bara kommit till ljuset från sammanställa alla septembers månatliga Försäljningsstatistik från dess olika divisioner, sade källor på företaget. På den positiva s

October 30, Wednesday, China's money market rates pointed on to a four-month high, a day following the country's central bank instill funds into the market to relieve worries that it was preparing to considerably constrict credit situation. The seven-day report rate, observed as a key measure of confidence to lend in the interbank markets, rose to around 5.59 percent - up about 64 basis points from the prior day. Analysts said that the jump in rates was seasonal in nature and at this stage were not too concerned about a repeat of events in June when a surge in money market rates fueled fears of a credit crunch in the world's number two economy. They further mentioned that liquidity infused into the market this week had not been huge enough to shove overnight lending rates considerably lower. On Tuesday via an open market operation, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) infused 13 billion yuan ($2.13 billion) into money markets. "Liquidity remains tight and the repo operation yesterday was small," said Nizam Idris, managing director, head of strategy, fixed income and currencies atMacquarie Bank. "China is still in the process of fine-tuning rates." Chris Weston, chief market strategist at trading firm IG, added: "Month end is coming up and of course tax implications are being blamed for higher rates." No fear With the benchmark Shanghai Composite stock index up 0.75 percent in afternoon Asia trade, Chinese markets became visible to take the spike in money market rates in stride. Analysts put this down to assumptions that the PBOC would approach into the market with better injections of cash to alleviate any doubts that it was geting ready to constrict monetary conditions in a big way. On Tuesday and Thursday, the PBOC usually carry out reverse-repurchase operations, an opportunity for it to inject liquidity into Chinese money markets. "They [PBOC policymakers] will probably provide liquidity on Thursday - at this point they don't wa

A serial entrepreneur Aaron Sylvan who lives in New York, contrasts the circumstances to requiring to hire both a carpenter and an architect when building a house. An accountant can analyze the big picture of your financial situation and offer strategic advice as he/she produces key financial documents, like profit-and-loss statement, if needed, and files a company's taxes. An accountant can also act as an outsourced chief financial officer, advising an entrepreneur on financial strategies, like whether to secure a line of credit against receivables when introducing new products after tax season is over On the contrary, a bookkeeper's jobs are the day-to-day hands-on tasks: making sure new employees file all the right paperwork for the company's payroll, submitting invoices (promptly) and following up on them, and paying the bills. The bookkeeper also tracks company expenses or company financial statements and can assure that every cost has been entered - and recorded correctly - into software like QuickBooks so that the business is ready for tax time along with filing any other reporting to, say, creditors or investors. "I don't keep receipts; they're a pain," says Sylvan, who runs Sylvan Social Technology, an ecommerce-services company. "Every month I get a bank statement with a gazillion transactions," such as taxi rides, meals, conferences and other expenses he has placed on his company's debit card. He said his bookkeeper spends a few hours a week sorting it all out. Consequently, Sylvan has a better idea about how his expenditures stack up in opposition to his budget. He is certain he won't bill clients wrongly or miss important payments. "Knowledge is power," even when it comes to the small details, Sylvan says. "If you don't have a bookkeeper, you're probably not being as strategic as you could be in how you spend your money." When to Bring in a Bookkeeper Sylvan has typically hired a bookkeeper for a few hour