In finance, interest is the price paid by a borrower for the use of a lender's money. In other words, interest is the amount of paid to "rent" money for a period of time. The original amount lent is called the principal, and the percentage of the principal which must be paid annually as interest is called the interest rate. Interest rates are crucial indicators in financial markets.

The existence of interest

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There are a variety of reasons which explain the why lenders charge interest for the use of their money:

• The time value of money: Most people would choose to have money in the present rather than money in the future. When asked to lend their current money in exchange for a promise to repay that money in the future, most lenders will agree only if they are repaid more than they originally lent. In effect, the interest rate is the payment for the use of money over time.

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eWeek - RSS Feeds

RIM the Big Winner in Smart Phone Market: Gartner
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:19:15 -0400
Gartner said global smart phone sales growth almost halved from the first quarter to 15.7 percent. - HELSINKI (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker RIM was the biggest winner in a slowing smart phone market in the second quarter, roughly doubling its market share from a year ago to 17.4 percent, research firm Gartner said on Monday. The market was still dominated by Finland's Nokia Oyj , which sold 15.3 mi...
Microsoft Announces BizTalk Server 2009
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:08:21 -0400
Microsoft renames BizTalk Server 2006 R3 to BizTalk Server 2009. The new release will be available in the first half of 2009 and will feature support for Team Foundation Server (TFS), Visual Studio Team System, and the upcoming “Oslo” modeling platform. - Microsoft announced the renaming of the next version of its BizTalk business process management server as well as detailed what will be in that product and what to expect in future releases. Burley Kawasaki, director of product management in the Connected Systems Division at Microsoft, said Microso...
Yahoo Search Arrives on ATandT Mobile Phones
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:57:36 -0400
AT T plans to offer, through its mobile Internet portal, a collection of Yahoo's oneSearch mobile Web services including links to news, financial information, weather, Flickr photos as well as Web search via the phone. - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - AT amp;T is set to begin featuring Yahoo search services on the Internet menu of mobile handsets used by its base of up to 70 million U.S. customers, the companies said on Monday. AT amp;T plans to offer, through its mobile Internet portal, a collection of Yahoo's oneSearc...
Intel Releases New Quad- and Dual-Core Xeon Processors
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:14:31 -0400
The new Intel Xeon processors include a low-power quad-core processor called the Intel Xeon L5430, which uses 50 watts of power. The other new Intel processors are the Intel Xeon X5470, Xeon X5492 and Xeon X5270. All four of these Intel Xeon processors are manufactured at 45 nm. The release of these four Intel processors is the run-up to the debut of Intel's Dunnington processor, which will have six processing cores. - Intel is planning to release four new Xeon processors, including a low-watt, quad-core chip, as the company gears up to roll out its quot;Dunnington quot; processor for large multisocket server systems later in September. On Sept. 8, Intel will release three new quad-core Xeon processors the Xeo...
Microsoft App Virtualization 4.5 is a Task
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:40:14 -0400
Microsoft's Application Virtualization 4.5 has a lot to offer enterprises, but the product comes with packaging and setup issues that need to be overcome for it to work properly. - Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 enables large organizations to provide applications to end-user computers without installing the software on the local Windows OS. Although this reduces application conflicts by isolating applications from each other and the underlying OS, my tests showed tha...
FAA Flight-Plan System Has Long History of Problems
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:00:16 -0400
Investigations reveal that the 20-year-old, mainframe-based IT system has crashed several times in the last nine years and that the FAA has been planning its replacement for at least four years. But a new, next-generation IT system won't be online until at least the end of 2008. Meanwhile, the old system creaks along on a wing and a prayer. - A major portion of the decades-old national air traffic control system used to manage thousands of commercial and general aviation takeoffs and landings every day in the United States has crashed multiple times under the 20-year strain of its 24/7 operations. As a result, industry analysts a...

NYT > Technology

RealNetworks to Introduce a DVD Copier
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:34:12 -0000
The digital media company will introduce RealDVD, a $30 software program for Windows computers that allows users to easily make a digital copy of an entire DVD.
Bits: Google's Search Goes Out to Sea
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:03:31 -0000
Google has filed a U.S. patent application to put mobile data centers out at sea, either on ships or fixed platforms, in an effort to provide Internet services where land-based connections aren’t feasible.
New E-Newspaper Reader Echoes Look of the Paper
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:49:58 -0000
Plastic Logic will introduce publicly on Monday its version of an electronic newspaper reader: a lightweight plastic screen that mimics the look — but not the feel — of a printed newspaper.

CNN.com - Technology

CIA, FBI embrace 'Facebook for spies'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:08:59 -0400
When you see people at the office using such Internet sites as Facebook, you might suspect those workers are slacking off. But that's not the case at U.S. intelligence agencies, where bosses are encouraging their staffs to use a new social-networking site designed for the secret world of spying.
Asia pollution may boost U.S. temperatures
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:55:23 -0400
Read full story for latest details.
eBay launches planet-friendly retail site
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:01:58 -0400
Read full story for latest details.

NPR Topics: Technology

N.C. City To Make Nation's First Digital Switch
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:51:00 -0400
On Monday, the city of Wilmington, N.C., will be the canary in the digital coal mine when it becomes the first U.S. city to permanently switch television broadcasts from analog to digital.
Scientist Finds New Way To Get Prints Off Bullet
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:49:00 -0400
He may not handle a gun as artfully as that other Bond, but University of Leicester scientist John Bond has made a real contribution to crime fighting. He has figured out a way for forensics experts to take a fingerprint off a bullet, even if the shooter has wiped the casing clean. The technique has already helped reopen three cold cases.
Particle Accelerator Helps Test Wine
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:53:00 -0400
Stephen Williams of the Antique Wine Company describes the new high-tech way to determine a wine's vintage.

BBC News | Technology | UK Edition

'Tough choices' for UK broadband
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:07:09 -0000
The cost of converting the UK to fibre-based broadband could top £28.8bn, says a report.
BBC iPlayer offered on Nokia N96
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:27:18 -0000
The BBC and Nokia are collaborating to put the BBC's iPlayer on the Nokia N96 handset.
The case for forensic linguistics
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:45:42 -0000
Text message analysis is becoming a powerful tool in solving crime cases, a science festival in Liverpool hears.

Reuters Video: Technology

Reuters Technology Week
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:06:17 -0400
Sep. 5 - A highly anticipated videogame, Spore, lets you rewrite the Book of Genesis as you create your own sci-fi society.
Sims creator launches 'Spore'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:14:44 -0400
Sep 5 - Video game designer Will Wright says his latest game will enable users to create the worlds while learning about evolutionary biology.
Sony Reader launches in UK
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:59:51 -0400
Sep 4 - The Japanese electronics company is getting some help from Britain's biggest book chain for the UK launch of its electronic book.

AP Top Technology News At 9:04 a.m. EDT

Real-estate site expands ad deal with newspapers
By ANICK JESDANUN Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:04:22 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- Real-estate Web site Zillow.com is expanding its partnership with 282 newspapers to give national advertisers new ways to reach local markets, changes that the news companies hope will allow them to raise their fees for online ads....
Esquire magazine unveils cover with electronic ink
By KRISTEN A. LEE Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:03:24 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- Although readers keep shifting to the Internet, Esquire magazine's editor is sure print isn't dying, and he aims to prove it Monday by unveiling a 75th-anniversary issue with a cover that features electronic ink....
Going, going gone: JetBlue auctions flights on Web
By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:34:44 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- JetBlue Airways Corp. is auctioning off more than 300 roundtrip flights and six vacation packages this week on eBay, with opening bids set between 5 and 10 cents....

CNET News.com

TechCrunch50: the day 1 schedule
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:12:32 -0700
The organizers of the vent have been playing their start-up cards close to the vest, but now we know who'll be presenting Monday.
McAfee brings nearly instant malware updates
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:03:19 -0700
Using a built-in communication channel, the security software maker's Artemis Technology can detect and remove suspicious new malicious software as it pops up.
Google announcement coming later today
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:45:00 -0700
Google is scheduled to make a presentation at 11:45 a.m. PDT on a still unknown topic at the TechCrunch50 event in San Francisco. We'll be there.

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