THE LOCAL

CURRENCIES, stocks and bonds across Africa plunged after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union triggered a slump in oil and other commodities and sent investors scurrying for safe assets.  South Africa’s benchmark stock index fell the most since January, led by shares of banks and diversified mining companies. The rand dropped to a record against the yen and by the most since 2008 against the dollar before paring the decline, while yields on dollar bonds from Ghana to Kenya rose. Gold miners gained the most in four months as the precious metal, seen as a haven in times of turmoil, soared. “We’re going into a very difficult, very volatile time with prices moving in all sorts of directions; lots and lots of uncertainty,” Ron Kiplin, a money manager at Cratos Capital in Johannesburg, said by phone.  “And we still need to see what impact really, from a South African perspective, it has on emerging markets.”  The victory for the “Leave” campaign may weigh o...

Most people have heard of stocks and bonds, but there are a ton of different ways to invest your money—mutual funds, CDs, real estate...the list is seemingly endless. Here's our reference guide to all the different types of investments and what they mean. You'll probably come across a handful of terms associated with your investments. We've listed a few of them below. These terms generally refer to the actual stuff you're invested in, but, of course, they have specific definitions, too. They include: Assets : An owned resource expected to increase in value. Holdings: The specific assets in your investment portfolio. Portfolio : Your "portfolio" refers to all of your investments, as a group. Diversifying your portfolio means investing in a variety of assets. Asset classes : A group of assets with similar characteristics. Generally, stocks, bonds and cash. Investopedia breaks up all the different types of investments into these basic categories:...