The 13th Century Italians almost certainly had the closest share trading markets to what we would recognize today. The Venetian traders were probably the first ones to begin dealing with government securities and even back then there was insider trading going on. In fact as early as 1351 there was a law passed in Venice which was designed to stop people spreading rumors that would drive down prices. Now to actually get a bad credit debt consolidation loan you're going to have to convince the bank or loan company that they really are going to be benefiting. Just telling them that they will make more money in the long run won't cut it. You need to present a well thought out case as to why it makes sense to consolidate your existing loans. This will enable you to spread your borrowing over a fixed period of time. It will also ensure that you are paying a much, much lower rate of interest than you would be paying on your cards. By shopping around you can usually find some very good deals available from the major lenders. And don't forget to try and haggle down the rate you are offered. But before picking up the phone it's a good idea to make sure you are going to present your application in the best possible way. Begin by listing every item of outstanding credit you have. This will ensure you don't forget anything and have to go back to the bank later. Secondly if you have any past due payments on your credit record make certain that you have a good explanation as to why it happened. As part of assessing your own comfort level you will want to feel comfortable that you can afford to risk losing the money that you are planning to invest. Obviously you don't want to lose it but if you absolutely can't afford to then you should look for something which carries a significantly lower level of risk. What they really want to be certain of is if they help you fix the problem you will be able to pay the money back to them. Before you apply for a loan for debt consolidation you need to sit down and figure what you're going to say to them. First up, make sure you only tell them the truth. Do you know one of the biggest reasons why people get turned down for debt consolidation?