Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced that it is investing $94 million in four photovoltaic panel farms in the Sacramento area. The farms belong to tech-giant Sharp and were built by San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy. Google’s investment will be in addition to the investment from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and will go a long way in the completion of the project.

Google has been building up its portfolio of clean energy investments and its latest investment of $94 million in the Sacramento area will push its total investments to more than $915 million. It is not clear as to how much Kohlberg Kravis Roberts would be investing in the project.

Google said that although it has already been providing funds for installing solar PV panels on the rooftops of more than 10,000 homeowners, the present investment is their first attempt to invest in large scale solar PV power plants that would be generating energy for the grid and not for individuals. About 88 megawatts of power would be produced by this project, which would be able to cater to the electricity requirements of more than 13,000 homes.

Google’s spokesman indicated that this is the first tie-up between Google and KKR but as per indications, this partnership might not last. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has already contracted the power that will be produced by the four solar farms for 20 years. 

Financial planning is basically the practise of budgeting, management of your investments and long term plans for your assets. As an investor, you have to plan the proper utilization of your finances. Saving your money or capital is important while you initiate financial planning. You can have plans for daily savings, short term savings and long term savings. To ensure a better and financially secured future, financial planning is important.

Considering your future financial requirements, you make plans to achieve financial goals. There are several elements associated to financial planning. Like individuals, corporations do have their financial plans to achieve business goals. Investment, asset allocation and risk management are three major basics of financial planning. Still it is worth mentioning that different individuals consider financial planning in different ways.

Many of the investors want to initiate better financial planning to maximise their money. Again, there are many of us who just want to save money for our post retirement phase. Similarly, many individuals want to save money to buy property. To achieve all these goals, better money management or financial management is necessary. Today “financial management” is supported with its own set of hypothesis and definitions.

Corporate financial planning

There are many experienced financial planners who assist in financial management. Each company or corporation needs to manage their income and expenditure effectively. A company with a positive balance sheet attracts more investors. A profit making company always gains the confidence of investors. So, a business plan and proper budgeting are important for every company. In any business, financial planning is determined by the following:

• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet
• Income statement

When people delay in making a proper financial plan, it could become a stumbling block in the process of remaining financially afloat in the post retirement phase. There are many online articles which help can help you know more about money management. It is best to go through them to have clear insight about the steps to be taken to ensure a better future.

Keeping the perfect balance between income and expenditure is most important. Instead of making huge goals it is advisable to set smaller milestones at the beginning. Effective debt management is indeed important as you are in your way to asset creation. In every financial planning, there must be room for emergency funding. It is best to note all the plans as a detailed approach is much better and effective. There are several certified professionals and in case of any doubts, it is best to seek assistance from them.

Although online game developer Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) will be the first company to benefit from the recent move by San Francisco to offer tax breaks on the sale of stock options following the company’s initial public offering on Friday, the City also stands to gain from the IPO of the company. It will be like setting a record for option-related payroll tax revenue from a single company.

The City made a modification in payroll tax recently as a result of which Zynga would only have to pay a maximum of $750,000 or 1.5 percent of payroll tax on the first $50 million of stock option compensation that will be given to its employees whenever they sell their shares in the company.

However, there is a catch because if Zynga’s employees had ever sold more than $50 million in stock options per year before the IPO of the company, the company’s tax rate would be higher. In such a case, its maximum tax rate on stock options would be an amount equal to 1.5 percent of that amount.

Setting a target price for buying or selling a stock is a good but defensive strategy that is followed to ensure that there is minimum loss. In this case, the profit will also be limited. Target price for selling is as important as the target price for buying. In stock trading, holding on to your stock for too long is not considered to be a good strategy as you may end up losing money. As such, investors set up target prices which they pass on to their brokers with the instructions that a particular stock should be bought or sold as soon as it touches the pre-determined target price.

Stock market updates and investment newsletters provide information and guidelines regarding the future trend of stocks and also advice regarding which stock to buy immediately. Based on these recommendations and many other factors such as, the credit ratings of the companies in which you wish to invest, analysts’ ratings and latest stock market news, you can set up target prices for buying and selling a stock.

However, you will still have to speculate about the time when you would like to pull the trigger for buying or selling. For instance, if you have set a target price for buying a stock at $4 a share and the price comes up to $4.10 a share and you keep waiting thinking that within a day it might touch $4, you might be in for a shock if the trend reverses and the stock starts moving up. You would be repenting that you stuck to your target price and lost a golden opportunity.

Similarly, if after doing a lot of researchyou set the target price for selling a stock at $6, the stock goes up to $5.85 and you keep hoping that it will touch $6 eventually. If the stock starts moving down, you would have to rush to sell the stock at whatever price you can gather, unless you have the financial capacity to hold on to the stock till its next revival. But you will not make any money till you sell what you have bought. The profit will come only when you sell, otherwise it is just a notional profit on paper.

It is obvious that target prices should be set after a lot of research that would give you a fair idea of the growth potential of the stock. Going through a rationale process based on analysis of the project performance and financial statements over a specified period of time will enable you to set the target prices.

A graduate of the US Air Force Academy and a MBA with Finance majors from the University of Colorado. He started investing in high school and continued to invest throughout his career in the US Air Force, Bank of America Corp, Coopers & Lybrand and Ross Perot. 

Quality and quantity are two major decisive aspects while determining most active stocks. At times, investors eye for shares of a moderate company with a good value instead of a share from a good company with moderate value. Actually, it is prudent to invest in a good company offering moderate price. The prospect of its stock becoming active is quite real. So, qualitative selection is essential when the hunt for most active stocks is on. Bigger corporations with high brand value are worthy as these companies work with high contingency plans. Moreover, they work with better economic will to prevail within the competitive market.

It can be presumed that the process of analyzing the most active stocks differ from the way we pick and choose the penny stocks of lesser value. Good brands and popular names dominate the market and its trends. Still, it is worth mentioning that the stock market cannot be predicted and it is essential to track the index. Ups and downs of the most active stocks are usually reflected through the business news channels, online portals and newsletters. For this, the risk is lesser with the popular stocks from leading corporations.

A question might arise in the mind of investors “what are the most active stocks?” Well, it is not a one line solution. Today’s most active stock might not be tomorrow. So, by benchmarking performance of the popular stocks, it is possible to draw a conclusion. There are several market conditions that influence performance of stocks. Some investors make huge fortunes with shares while many others lose their belongings. It is constant study and monitoring of the reputed web portals that makes the difference. Many investors consider stocks with lower prices, especially when the major stocks fare poorly, and their prices go down drastically. It is the ideal time to buy them as possibilities of potential growth remains high.

Presently few of the most active stocks are as follows:

• BAC Bank Of America Corporation
• GE General Electric Co
• C Citigroup Inc
• F Ford Motor Co
• PFE Pfizer Inc
• CIM Chimera Investment Corp
• RF Regions Financial Corp
• MS Morgan Stanley
• MGM Mgm Resorts International
• WFC Wells Fargo & Co
• JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co
• BSX Boston Scientific Corp
• MRK Merck & Co Inc New
• NOK Nokia Corp
• S Sprint Nextel Corp
• ALU Alcatel-Lucent

It is impossible to provide definite status and stature of the most active stocks under the volatile market conditions. The position and value of stocks keep changing rapidly, and only with the suggestion of the financial experts can the target price be analyzed. To know more about the most active stocks it is advisable to subscribe to the popular stock newsletters. Online stock trading is in vogue, to get information of the active stocks, self research and comparative analysis of the reputable news portals are very important.

An investor might focus upon a single market or he has the choice to invest across markets. To get the latest stock market updates it is necessary to focus on markets where the investment is going to take place. To be precise, stock ratings of different stock markets are difficult to track. For example, an investor with stocks in Dow Jones and BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) needs to go for a clear cut, pick and choose option. The web portals offering in-depth information on BSE and Dow Jones should be selected before initiating the benchmarking process. The World Wide Web is flooded with the latest stock ratings and business news; ample information regarding the market trends is available online. 

It is heartening that there are sites offering suggestive articles and journals. Getting live stock ratings is now not a big deal. In turn, in the competitive scenario, it is difficult to create an overview about the right stocks to be selected.  It is sensible to find a site that provides details of the latest market scenario. Market dynamics are governed by the business trends and hence, investing is now, quite a challenge. Investors attempt to go with the changing trend of the sector in which they have invested. A person buying stocks of the oil and gas sector, focuses on getting the detailed business prospects of that particular sector. This is not at all the right way of getting an overview of future growth of stocks; instead the target price set by the investment analysis firms or the financial experts, works well. 

Latest development of a particular sector or an industry might not influence the stock ratings . The business news providers analyze the buyers and sellers trends.  At times, investors go with the market buzz and sell off the stocks and as a result, the value of the specific stock goes downhill. It is good to respect growth specific sectors while investing but similarly, it is equally important to consider the risks and the factors affecting the market. In the present global economic scene, stocks are commoditized assets only if the right one is purchased and is disposed off at the right time. To ensure the best utilization of stocks, a continuous analysis of the latest stock market news and trends is needed.  Relying too much upon resources that monitor and regulate your investment might not turn lucrative in case of an unexpected market crash. So, self research and involvement also matters. 

Getting the best advice in a capsulated way is desired by every investor. It is quite common for investors to be obsessed with financial dailies and bogged down with tablets to hunt for the best web portal offering business news. There is nothing out of risk in stock trading, but finding a high-quality suggestion with substantial information, truly safeguards risk. Subscribing to a site that does not create any hype but neutrally analyze thelatest stock market updates, can yield better benefits. While studying market trends, it is good to ensure that you are studying the right content.