Anybody have experience in investing in virtual world banks/businesses/markets (such as those in SecondLife.com etc)? Do they provide a serious way of making a sensible risk/reward on five or six figure investments? [more inside]
posted by vizsla on Aug 12, 2008 - 22 answers

How would a private UK citizen, living and working in the UK, with no financial connection to the US, go about buying a few thousand dollars of shares in a NASDAQ-listed company? Talk to my broker, right? Where should my broker be? In the US or the UK? Any specific broker recommendations? Any tax/duty issues of which I need to be aware? Any other advice?
posted by caek on Mar 22, 2007 - 7 answers

UKSharesFilter: Some of my relatives have had a small selection of the shares in an inherited portfolio disappear over time from their online tracker, so my question is what has happened to the following stocks: CHB.L; GAA.L; MFBUEUGI.L and MFBUTRU.L, and should they have received any notification, documents or even cheques, (and what can be done about finding out more)? (I should clarify that they still have the certificates and haven't sold, traded or otherwise physically disposed of them, it's the listing themselves that now come up as 'No Such Symbol' on the internet listing of the portfolio).
posted by timpollard on Aug 7, 2006 - 5 answers

How do shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway earn income? It seems that dividends haven't been issued since 1967. Short of selling the stock, isn't the investment "tied up"? [more inside]
posted by daksya on May 9, 2005 - 19 answers

I have exercised stock options and taken possession of a small number of shares. I have not sold anything, but am wondering how screwed I am, tax-wise. First, do I have to declare the value of the stock as "income" for the year that I acquired it? Second, if I should sell it, do I add the money I receive from that sale to my regular taxable income? Do I deduct the amount I paid in? Is the net difference subject to other taxes? Is this handle-able by an average person or do I need an accountant?
posted by scarabic on Jan 13, 2005 - 6 answers