Online Banking??

If you're like most people, you've heard a lot about online banking but probably haven't tried it yourself. You still pay your bills by mail and deposit checks at your bank branch, much the way your parents did. You might shop online for a loan, life insurance or a home mortgage, but when it comes time to commit, you feel more comfortable working with your banker or an agent you know and trust.

Online banking isn't out to change your money habits. Instead, it uses today's computer technology to give you the option of bypassing the time-consuming, paper-based aspects of traditional banking in order to manage your finances more quickly and efficiently.

Virtual banks
If you don't mind foregoing the teller window, lobby cookie and kindly bank president, a "virtual" or e-bank, such as Virtual Bank or Giant Bank, may save you very real money. Virtual banks are banks without bricks; from the customer's perspective, they exist entirely on the Internet, where they offer pretty much the same range of services and adhere to the same federal regulations as your corner bank.

Virtual banks pass the money they save on overhead like buildings and tellers along to you in the form of higher yields, lower fees and more generous account thresholds.

The major disadvantage of virtual banks revolves around ATMs. Because they have no ATM machines, virtual banks typically charge the same surcharge that your brick-and-mortar bank would if you used another bank's automated teller. Likewise, many virtual banks won't accept deposits via ATM; you'll have to either deposit the check by mail or transfer money from another account.

Investing in the Gambling/Gaming Industry – Hidden Treasure or Risky Business?

Introduction
More and more investors are beginning to realize that the gambling industry is a promising global growth industry and offers a wealth of opportunities. But gambling, in many respects, remains one of the financial community’s best-kept secrets. Due to various reasons, gambling companies often do not make it into the portfolios of financial investors.
The new report of MECN is bringing some light into one of the fastest growing and promising industries. The report will provide detailed information regarding many relevant topics, among others:
-Comprehensive analysis of the industry’s sectors
-Key growth drivers of the industry
-Investment opportunities and current status
-Industry benchmarks and company comparisons
-Financial figures, ratios, and metrics
-Investment volumes and return multiples
-Stock market analysis (e.g., Gambling Industry Index, …)
-Privatization of state lotteries
-Investment opportunities for state gambling operators
-…
The results are based on a unique survey MECN conducted in association with one of the most renowned industry magazines, IGWB. Over 100 investors and gambling companies provided insights into the current status of gambling investments, opportunities and challenges, and future investments.
The report is mainly targeted at financial investors as well as at gambling companies that want to unlock the industry’s financial potential. This report will allow for a better understanding of the industry and its investment attractiveness and also help to identify ways in which the industry can improve its investor relations.




Online Poker – Driving Gambling to New Heights

Detailed industry report includes results of a survey conducted among industry experts featuring gambling’s hottest topic.

Gambling reinvents itself constantly, and online poker is the product that seems to be the current guarantor of future growth rates. What began as triumphant advance in the USA is now leading to a global poker wave on the Internet:

Poker will soon be the dominant online gambling offer. More than 60% of the industry experts surveyed believe that online poker will be the dominant offer in online gambling in 2-3 years.
The amount gambled on poker websites around the world in 2005 is estimated to be more than USD 60 billion, and the commission revenues will be around USD 3 billion.
Poker shows are a success on TV. Examples of successful poker TV shows include the World Series of Poker on ESPN and the European Poker Tour on Eurosport.
Online site Paradise Poker was recently sold for about USD 300 million, and whispers of a poker site IPO with an estimated evaluation between USD 4 billion and USD 8 billion are making online poker a business to watch closely.
As the success of online poker revs up, the gambling industry’s traditional operators (e.g., William Hill, Ladbrokes, …) are quickly adding poker to their online offerings.

                                                                             (-source :www.mecn.net)