In This Issue - July/August 2001

Without a doubt, the Internet has had a great impact on our lives and in all likelihood will continue to do so. The dotcom bubble may have burst, but that doesn't mean we are waving goodbye to the daily use of the Internet in our lives. It's still around, and businesses are continuing to create Internet strategies to offer services to their customers. In the financial industry alone, new Internet strategies and technologies abound, making it easier and more convenient for us to make investing and trading transactions. With the emergence of online banking, we can now take care of our banking needs from a personal computer, getting away from the need for a brick-and-mortar presence (read David Penn's "Onward, Online Banking"). Financial brokerages are scrambling to offer their customers the convenience of wireless trading, making it possible for us to place trades when we are on the road (check out my "Mobile Trading: The M-Commerce Revolution"). Companies are offering us the ability to manage our entire portfolio online so we can see our net worth fluctuate on a daily basis -- and the list goes on.

Take a look at this month's Working Money and find out more about the many services offered by the financial industry through the Internet. Find out about online banking and wireless trading -- and Internet security. But the use of the Internet goes beyond commerce. The online world offers endless amounts of information. Look at the number of sites that offer online charting tools, or other information related to investing. Sharon Yamanaka's article, "Charts, Charts, Everywhere," may prompt you to bookmark a few useful charting websites. And while you're at it, you might like to give your kids an early start in their investing education by adding to your list of favorites the sites mentioned in our "What's New" column about kid-friendly websites, sites designed to give your kids a running start on learning about money and -- get this -- taxes!

The readiness of the financial industry to embrace technological changes has opened the door to the financial industry for many of us. But in spite of technological changes, the underlying premise of the markets -- to make money -- has not changed from a hundred years ago, as you'll find out in James Maccaro's "The Market Guru Of The Gilded Age." With that in mind, take a look at our issue this month and explore what the online world has to offer, whether it's education or doing your banking.

Here's to smart investing!