How does the stock market work? - Oliver Elfenbaum

 

                                                                                                                             

In the 1600s the Dutch East India Company employed hundreds of ships

to trade gold, porcelain, spices, and silks around the globe.

But running this massive operation wasn’t cheap.

In order to fund their expensive voyages,

the company turned to private citizens–

individuals who could invest money to support the trip

in exchange for a share of the ship’s profits.

This practice allowed the company to afford even grander voyages,

increasing profits for both themselves and their savvy investors.

Selling these shares in coffee houses and shipping ports across the continent,

the Dutch East India Company unknowingly invented the world’s first stock market.

Since then, companies have been collecting funds from willing investors

to support all kinds of businesses.

And today,the stock market has schools, careers, and even whole television channels

dedicated to understanding it.

But the modern stock market is significantly more complicated

than its original incarnation.

So how do companies and investors use the market today?

Let’s imagine a new coffee company that decides to launch on the market.

First, the company will advertise itself to big investors.

If they think the company is a good idea,

they get the first crack at investing,

and then sponsor the company’s initial public offering, or IPO.

This launches the company onto the official public market,

where any company or individual who believes the business could be profitable

might buy a stock.

Buying stocks makes those investors partial owners in the business.

Their investment helps the company to grow,

and as it becomes more successful,

more buyers may see potential and start buying stocks.

As demand for those stocks increases,

so does their price, increasing the cost for prospective buyers,

and raising the value of the company's stocks people already own.

For the company,this increased interest helps fund new initiatives,

and also boosts its overall market value

by showing how many people are willing to invest in their idea.

However, if for some reason a company starts to seem less profitable

the reverse can also happen.

If investors think their stock value is going to decline,

they’ll sell their stocks with the hopes of making a profit

before the company loses more value.

As stocks are sold and demand for the stock goes down,

the stock price falls,

and with it, the company’s market value.

This can leave investors with big losses–

unless the company starts to look profitable again.

This see-saw of supply and demand is influenced by many factors.

Companies are under the unavoidable influence of market forces–

such as the fluctuating price of materials,

changes in production technology,

and the shifting costs of labor.

Investors may be worried about changes in leadership,

bad publicity, or larger factors like new laws and trade policies.

And of course,

plenty of investors are simply ready to sell valuable stocks

and pursue personal interests.

All these variables cause day-to-day noise in the market,

which can make companies appear more or less successful.

And in the stock market,

appearing to lose value often leads to losing investors,

and in turn, losing actual value.

Human confidence in the market has the power to trigger

everything from economic booms to financial crises.

And this difficult-to-track variable

is why most professionals promote reliable long term investing

over trying to make quick cash.

However, experts are constantly building tools

in efforts to increase their chances of success

in this highly unpredictable system.

But the stock market is not just for the rich and powerful.

With the dawn of the Internet,

everyday investors can buy stocks

in many of the exact same ways a large investor would.

And as more people educate themselves about this complex system

they too can trade stocks,

support the businesses they believe in,

and pursue their financial goals.

The first step is getting invested.

English

https://youtu.be/p7HKvqRI_Bo

How does caffeine keep us awake? - Hanan Qasim

                                                                      

Over 100,000 metric tons of caffeine are consumed

around the world every year.

That's equivalent to the weight of 14 Eiffel Towers.

Most of this caffeine is consumed in coffee and tea,

but it's also ingested in some sodas,

chocolate,

caffeine pills,

and even beverages labeled decaf.

Caffeine helps us feel alert, focused, happy, and energetic,

even if we haven't had enough sleep.

But it can also raise our blood pressure, and make us feel anxious.

It's the world most widely used drug.

So how does it keep us awake?

Caffeine evolved in plants where it serves a few purposes.

In high doses, as it's found in the leaves and seeds of certain species,

it's toxic to insects.

But when they consume it in lower doses, as it's found in nectar,

it can actually help them remember and revisit flowers.

In the human body, caffeine acts as a stimulant for the central nervous system.

It keeps us awake by blocking one of the body's key sleep-inducing molecules,

a substance called adenosine.

Your body needs a constant supply of energy,

which it gets by breaking down a high-energy molecule called ATP.

In the process,

it liberates adenosine, ATP's chemical backbone.

Neurons in your brain have receptors perfectly tailored to this molecule.

When adenosine docks to these receptors,

it activates a cascade of biochemical reactions

that cause neurons to fire more sluggishly

and slow the release of important brain-signaling molecules.

In other words, you get sleepy.

Caffeine is what's called an adenosine receptor antagonist.

That means it derails this process of slowing your neurons down

by blocking adenosine receptors.

Caffeine and adenosine have a similar molecular structure,

close enough that caffeine can wedge into the adenosine receptors,

but not close enough to activate them.

To summarize, adenosine inhibits your neurons.

Caffeine inhibits the inhibitor, so it stimulates you.

Caffeine can also boost positive feelings.

In some neurons, the adenosine receptors

are linked to receptors for another molecule called dopamine.

One of dopamine's roles in the brain is to promote feelings of pleasure.

When adenosine docks in one of these paired receptors,

that can make it harder for dopamine to fit in its own spot,

interrupting its mood-lifting work.

But when caffeine takes adenosine's place, it doesn't have the same effect,

and dopamine can slide in.

There's evidence that caffeine's effects on adenosine and dopamine receptors

can have long-term benefits, too, reducing the risk of diseases

like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and some types of cancer.

Caffeine can also ramp up the body's ability to burn fat.

In fact, some sports organizations think

that caffeine gives athletes an unfair advantage

and have placed limits on its consumption.

From 1972 until 2004,

Olympic athletes had to stay below a certain blood-caffeine concentration

to compete.

Of course, not all of caffeine's effects are so helpful.

It might make you feel better and more alert,

but it can also raise your heart rate and blood pressure,

cause increased urination or diarrhea,

and contribute to insomnia and anxiety.

Plus, the foods and beverages caffeine is found in

have their own impacts on your body that have to be taken into account.

Your brain can adapt to regular consumption of caffeine.

If your adenosine receptors are perpetually clogged,

your body will manufacture extra ones.

That way, even with caffeine around,

adenosine can still do its job of signaling the brain to power down.

That's why you may find you need to consume more and more caffeine

to feel as alert.

There are more and more adenosine receptors to block.

It's also why if you suddenly quit caffeine,

you may experience an unpleasant withdrawal.

With plenty of receptors and no competition,

adenosine can work overtime,

causing symptoms like headaches,

tiredness,

and depressed moods.

But in a few days, the extra adenosine receptors will disappear,

your body will readjust,

and you'll feel just as alert as ever,

even without an infusion of the world's most popular stimulant.

English

https://youtu.be/foLf5Bi9qXs