November 2014

Financial Time Machine first appeared in 1982 as 
"The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt" for the Odyssey 2 Console.
later it reappeared as C64 version with the current title.
The version for the Commodore Amiga from 1985 was shipped together
with its C source code, although a single source file (lessee6.c)
has been lost.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=71641

this project here is based on that source code and tries to recreate
the missing functionality and use modern backend to be able to run
the game on recent operating systems in order to preserve it for
the generations to come.

To compile it, a C99 compiler, SDL library, and "make" utility
is required, however lacking the latter, it should be sufficient to
just manually compile ftm.c.

Original README follows.

					rofl0r



November 1985

    This new release of THE FINANCIAL TIME MACHINE includes a new
command for those people who can't wait for history to repeat
itself slowly.

The new command is called JUMP.

This command allows you to set the game into a mode where it
speeds through time.  This means that it is no longer necessary
for you to wait through long periods of inactivity to see how
well your investment strategy is doing.  In addition, for those
intrepid enough to try, you'll find that all regular commands are
still active in JUMP mode!  And for the real speed addicts, if
you turn off the stock ticker click (by holding down the control
key and typing Q) things really being to fly.  To play along at
this speed you'll need a crystal ball and blindingly fast
fingers.

Here's how the command works. Type:

    JUMP 10

This will put in JUMP mode for 10 weeks.

If you try:

    JUMP *

it will put you into JUMP mode for 3500 weeks, enough weeks to
play the entire 55 years.  Don't panic if you need to get back
out of JUMP mode.  Just type:

    JUMP 0

Good Luck!


ADDITIONAL INFO & HINTS
-----------------------

    For those of you who like short cuts and hate typing you'll
find that FTM recognizes any distinct abbreviation for a command,
as well as for stock names.  For example:

    B  2  IBM

is as good as

    BU	2  IB

is as good as

    BUY 2 IBM

but

    B  2  I

    is no good because FTM can't tell if you want to buy IBM,
IMF, or ITT.  In addition you can always check a command by
hitting the ESCAPE key.  This will NEVER execute the command but
it will expand commands into a more readable form.  For example:

    B  2  R

would expand to

    BUY 2 RES AT 120

when you hit the ESCAPE key.


ON TAXES
--------

    If you don't hold a stock at least a year then anything you
make is taxable as short term gains (50% tax rate).  If you DO
hold it a year or more it's Long Term Gains (only 25% tax rate.
FTM always sells the shares that you've held the longest first in
order to give you the best deal.  For those interested in really
playing the angles on taxes this is how taxes are figured.

If both Short Term and Long Term Gains are positive or both are
negative then just multiply both by their respective tax rates
(50% and 25%) to come up with your taxes due or tax credit.  If
one or the other is positive and the other is negative then
things are a bit more complicated.  This is what happens.  First
you add the two numbers together (Short Term Gains + Long Term
Gains; where one of the two is negative, a loss).   Then you pick
which of the two numbers (Short or Long Term Gains) is largest,
ignoring the negative sign, and use that numbers tax rate on the
number you got by adding the two together.  Essentially what is
happening is that you can cancel Short and Long Term gains and
losses against each other and the tax rate is determined by which
one of the two was largest (in an absolute sense).  Got it???  If
not don't worry the program takes care of all this for you.

    Bond interest is always taxed at 50% and is considered Other
Earnings, as are earnings from options.  If a stock splits and
you can't hold the extra shares  (the limit is 9999) then you get
cash instead and that's taxed as Other Earnings as well.  If you
own IMF when ANY stock splits you get a cash dividend as well,
again taxed as Other Earnings (50% rate).  If all this taxation
is getting you down then you'll be pleased to know that FTM
automatically carries forward any tax losses you might have from
year to year.  Sorry, no refunds.


A HINT
------
    In the real world it's tough to make money and so it is in
the world of THE FINANCIAL TIME MACHINE.  Those bar charts in the
instruction manual for each of stocks are the key.  They provide
a measure of how stocks generally (but only generally) react to
various events.  It's worth the time to study them.  Also don't
be reluctant to deal in options, there is money to be made, as
well as lost.  In addition, if you buy on margin you effectively
double your buying power and potential return (while at the same
time doubling you risk).  But interest accrues on you margin debt
so beware.  And, after all is said and done, keep in mind that
the prime rate generally reflects the inflation rate and that in
real life you would be fighting against inflation as well as
trying to make money.  Those of you interested in seeing how you
are doing against some benchmark can try one of two methods.
Either set up a second dummy player that invests everything in
bonds (this will reflect how much you could have made by just
holding bonds; remember bonds don't incur any brokerage fees
either), or set up a dummy player that invests everything in IMF
(this reflects how well the market performed overall).	Take some
risks and enjoy!




					NMc