Blog Posts by Subject: Finance

NYPL's business library, SIBL, learned recently that it had been named the 2012 recipient of the Malcom S. Forbes Public Awareness Award for Advancing Financial Understanding. The Financial Planning Association of New York will present the award at its annual spring forum in April, but why wait until then to highlight the resources and services that garnered NYPL this recognition?  The Library can help you better understand your personal finances starting now.

The January 14 issue of The Economist has reviewed (and maybe recommended...) five new books on a few different business topics. I'm using this as an opportunity to post a list of these titles with links to the Library's collections.

Working at SIBL has distorted my vision; I seem to have this sixth sense: I see advertising for financial services. Brokerage accounts, mutual funds, ETFs, bank accounts (online and otherwise) - everywhere. Do normal people see these?

An ancient stock certificate found in a drawer after someone dies; selling shares that grandma gave us a long time ago; investment paperwork lost in a move. The stories all seem different, but in each case the question is the same — what has happened to a company since these shares of stock were purchased?

Get Your Financial House in Order

The economic crisis of 2008 sent all of us reeling. The financial security that we thought we had became a thing of the past — and those of us not financially savvy to begin with — were now out in the cold, naked, alone and confused.

What does it take to recover from this stunning blow? Well, knowledge is power! So the more we know about financial matters, the better able we are to navigate the waters be they rough or smooth.

The George Bruce Library will be offering a Financial Literacy Series of programs (entitled Money Matters) this Fall.  Topics covered will include

Here's a shocker! According to Pamela Yellen, CEO of Bank on Yourself, whom Michel Martin interviewed recently on NPR's Tell Me More, 41% of adults give themselves a C grade or lower in their knowledge of personal finance. To help New Yorkers ace this subject NYPL runs Financial Literacy Central (FLC) at its business library, SIBL.

The FLC offers periodicals and databases; books (in print as well as electronic and audio format)—including Yellen's best seller—classes; and one-on-one financial coaching. The Financial Planning Association of New York is a key FLC partner, providing certified financial planners who give presentations and private advisory 

Hearing the capstone presentations of 20 aspiring business owners in a FastTrac New Ventures program last week inspired me to talk to Shagun Malhotra, who recently told Crain's New York Business what she learned at FastTrac en route to taking second place in SIBL's 2010 New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition.

The deadline for filing your income taxes may be rapidly approaching but that is no reason to put your personal finances on the back burner until next April.  If that little voice at the back of your mind is telling your that you need to finally get serious about planning for your financial future, you're in luck!

Who exactly were the Queens of Finance? The New York Herald reserved this title for Victoria Claflin Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin (or Tennie C Claflin). These sisters surmounted incredible odds by establishing a highly lucrative brokerage business on Wall Street in 1869. Born in Homer, Ohio they were not privy to the comforts and education afforded by wealth or high social stature. In fact, their childhood was quite tumultuous. Born to an alcoholic father, the sisters took charge of providing for the family while Tennessee was still an adolescent. Victoria and Tennessee moved to New York with their family and manage their combined living expenses with money