How Long Does It Take To Get a Legal Separation?

Response: The length of the separation process can vary depending on the state and the complexity of the agreement, but the process typically takes around six months to a year.


Response: As the World International Property Organization, a United Nations agency, defines it, intellectual property refers to “creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.” The legal ownership of intellectual property is protected by trademarks, copyrights, and patents.


Response: There are various leverage ratios and each of them are calculated in different ways. In many cases, it involves dividing a company’s debt by something else, such as shareholders equity, total capital, or EBITDA.


Response: That depends on the particular leverage ratio being used as well as the type of company. For example, capital-intensive industries rely more on debt than service-based firms, so they’d expect to have more leverage. To gauge what is an acceptable level, look at leverage ratios across a certain industry. It’s also worth remembering that little debt is not necessarily a good thing. Companies can use debt to deliver shareholders greater returns.


Response: In economics, land is considered a factor of production similar to labor as one of the crucial elements in creating goods and services. Land resources, specifically, are raw materials in the production process, such as trees, oil, and metals.


Response: Underwriting refers to taking on risk in return for a fee. Part of the underwriting process is assessing the risk involved and setting the fee accordingly.


Response: One of the oldest forms of insurance, marine insurance can cover ships, their cargoes, and related risks. The hull of the Titanic, for example, was insured for a total of £1 million, with multiple Lloyd’s syndicates taking on portions of the policy.


Response: LGD is loss given default and refers to the amount of money a bank loses when a borrower defaults on a loan. PD is the probability of default, which measures the probability, or likelihood that a borrower will default on their loan.


Do level death benefit policies charge lower premiums than those with increasing death benefits?

Response: Normally, yes. Insurance companies can charge less for a level death benefit policy because the insurer can more accurately forecast their future financial liability. The eventually payout for an increasing death benefit is less precise to anticipate.


How Is Federalism Connected to the Idea of Limited Government?

Response: Federalism refers to a political system that delegates certain powers to local or provincial bodies. In a federalist system, local governments may have their own legislature, courts, tax authority, and other functions of government. In some cases, they may also have the power to secede from the central government.


Who Came Up With the Idea of Limited Government?

Response: While the concept of limited government dates back to the Magna Carta, the idea was further developed by Enlightenment thinkers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The idea that government power requires the consent of the governed originates from John Locke.The concept of separating the government into three branches is attributed to Baron de Montesquieu, and the idea that the government should avoid intervening in commerce is frequently attributed to Adam Smith. Many of these ideas were later integrated into the American and French Revolutions.


What Is an Example of a Letter of Credit?

Response: Consider an exporter in an unstable economic climate, where credit may be more difficult to obtain. A bank could offer a buyer a letter of credit, available within two business days, in which the purchase would be guaranteed by the bank's branch. Because the bank and the exporter have an existing relationship, the bank is knowledgeable of the buyer's creditworthiness, assets, and financial status.


Do Traders Have Access to Level III Quotes?

Response: Level III quotes are used by institutions and registered Nasdaq market makers, who enter quotes, execute orders, and send out trade-related information. Level III quotes are not available to individual investors or traders but are reserved for those involved in executing customer orders.


Response: A lot in terms of options represents 100 shares of the underlying stock but forex is traded in micro (1,000 of base currency), mini (10,000 of base currency), and standard lots of 100,000.


What Are the Different Labor Categories?

Response: Labor is generally categorized into unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled. Unskilled labor is that which does not require any skill or education and that can be performed by almost anyone. Unskilled labor tends to focus on physical labor as opposed to mental labor. Semi-skilled labor requires some skills and education but not as much as skilled labor. Skilled labor requires extensive education, such as a college degree, with jobs that are in need of judgment, decision-making, and complex thought.


Is a Layaway Plan Better Than Using a Credit Card?

Response: It depends. Credit cards allow you to own your purchase immediately and don’t require a down payment to do so. Using them responsibly can build your credit score, which layaway plans usually don’t do. Furthermore, credit cards come with rewards programs, unlike layaway plans.That said, layaway plans usually don’t charge interest, while credit card interest rates can be quite high and mount quickly. And in the case of a default, with a credit card, your credit score will be damaged; with a layaway plan, it won’t be affected. And of course, you need good credit to get a credit card but not to be eligible for a layaway plan.If you can pay your credit card bill in full every month, it is a better way to buy goods than a layaway plan is. If you can’t, however, then layaway is probably the way to go.


Response: All listed companies are public companies by definition. That is, they are permitted to list shares of their stock for trading to the public on one of the exchanges. They have met the standards of the exchange and are regulated as public companies by the SEC.


What Happens to the Employees and Shareholders of a Liquidated Company?

Response: When a company is liquidated, it ceases to operate and its employees will often lose their jobs. However, they are still often entitled to receive unpaid wages and other benefits owed to them by contract, which would be paid out of the proceeds of the liquidation. In some cases, employees may also be able to claim unemployment from the government while receiving these unpaid wages.When a company goes bankrupt, its creditors are repaid first from the liquidation proceeds, followed by preferred shareholders. Only after both of those categories are made whole will common-stock shareholders receive what’s left. This is often pennies on the dollar, if anything at all.


Response: An economy would follow the principles of Laissez-Faire if it followed an approach where the government was not at all involved in the workings of the economy, business, or markets. Instead, the free market would regulate not only prices but also discipline producers to remain good actors. In reality, such an economy does not exist. All economies, even in countries with highly Libertarian values, have some degree of government regulation and intervention.


How Can I Get a Mortgage with Bad Credit?

Response: Getting a mortgage when you have bad credit is possible, but a larger down payment, mortgage insurance, and a higher interest rate will likely be required.


What Are Larry Ellison’s Charitable Causes?

Response: Ellison has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to medical research and education, including $200 million to the University of Southern California for a cancer treatment research center in 2016. He also signed the Giving Pledge in 2010, a campaign launched by Warren Buffett to encourage fellow billionaires to contribute most of their wealth to charitable causes.


Response: A 70% (0.70) loan-to-value (LTV) ratio indicates that the amount borrowed is equal to seventy percent of the value of the asset. In the case of a mortgage, it would mean that the borrower has come up with a 30% down payment and is financing the rest. For instance, a $500,000 property with a 70% LTV would have a $150,000 down payment and a $350,000 mortgage.


Response: Loan-to-value (LTV) is calculated simply by taking the loan amount and dividing it by the value of the asset or collateral being borrowed against. In the case of a mortgage, this would be the mortgage amount divided by the property's value.


What Is Ledger Balance and Available Balance?

Response: Ledger balance is the amount of money in your account that might not account for transactions made during the day, such as charges or deposits. The available balance is the ledger balance less transactions made during the day.


What Companies Does the London Stock Exchange Group Own?

Response: Apart from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) itself, the LSEG also owns FTSE Russell, Refinitiv, and LCH Clearing.


What Happens When the M2 Money Supply Increases?

Response: When there is more cash out there, more cash is spent. A little more can be good. A lot more can increase the risk of inflation. That's why the Federal Reserve constricts the money supply when the inflation rate rises—it is trying to slow down spending to control the inflation rate.


What Are Some Examples of Master Limited Partnerships?

Response: In general, master limited partnerships are companies that engage in the exploration, development, processing, or transportation of natural resources. They may also focus on real estate. An MLP could own and operate oil and gas pipelines. Or, it might focus on exploring for and producing crude oil. You could also find MLPs that gather and process natural gas.


What Is the Difference Between Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection?

Response: Moral hazard is a phenomenon wherein being protected from the consequences of one’s actions encourages additional risk-taking. Adverse selection refers to situations in which one party utilizes information they possess that another party doesn’t to ensure a trade is in their favor.As an example, a moral hazard is the risk that an employee who is enrolled in their company’s dental insurance plan may be less concerned about their oral hygiene, whereas someone who knowingly has a high-risk lifestyle is making an adverse selection by taking out a life insurance policy.


Response: Middle market private equity refers to the sector of private equity businesses that invest in companies worth between $50 million and $500 million. Companies in this range tend to be well-established, without the risks of investing in a small startup.


Response: The marginal benefit can be calculated from the slope of the demand curve at that point. For example, if you want to know the marginal benefit of the nth unit of a certain product, you would take the slope of the demand curve at the point where current consumption is equal to n.


What Are the Tax Benefits of Depreciation?

Response: Depreciation expenses lower the amount of income on which taxes are based, thereby reducing the amount of taxes owed. The benefit of accelerated depreciation is that you are getting a greater tax reduction in the earlier years of an asset's useful life.


What Is the Difference Between Morbidity and Mortality?

Response: The term morbidity refers to the rate at which an illness or disease occurs in a population. Mortality rate is the rate of death in a population.


Response: Usually, a lawyer will draft an MOU. An MOU should clearly state the following: what parties are involved, the context of the agreement, the proposed date of when the agreement will become effective, the contact details of all relevant parties, the broad purpose of the agreement, and what each party is hoping to achieve, as well as a space for all necessary signatures.


Response: Essentially, merchandising is the promotion and sale of products. It often is used to mean retail sales itself in that its goal is to influence the buying decisions of consumers. However, it should not be confused with the sale itself. It is the process leading up to a sale. It includes the determination of quantities, setting prices for goods and services, creating display designs, developing marketing strategies, and establishing discounts or coupons.


Response: The three basic inputs of an MRP system include the Master Production Schedule (MPS), Inventory Status File (ISF), and Bill of Materials (BOM).


What's the Difference Between M0, M1, and M2?

Response: The U.S. money supply is reported in two main categories, M1 and M2. MO is included in both M1 and M2.MO is the total amount of paper money and coins in circulation, plus the current amount of central bank reserves.M1 is the most frequently reported headline number. It is MO plus money held in regular savings accounts and in travelers' checks.M2 is all of M1 plus money invested in short-term assets that mature in less than a year, like some certificates of deposit.


Response: Consider a company that markets health and beauty products to both men and women. These products, such as razors or skin care, are typically more expensive for women than they are for men. The product packaging also differs—products targeted to women having pinks and floral accents that align with gender stereotypes. On the other hand, the company's male-targeted products are characterized by more rugged blacks and greys.


What Is an Example of a Macro Environment?

Response: Political factors are an example of a macro-environmental force that can impact a business. These include laws or government regulations governing companies or the industry in which they operate.For example, a government can enact tariffs that increase the cost of an imported good a company needs to manufacture its products. Rather than paying the tariff, the company can look for a domestic source for these goods that is cheaper than the imported good. If they can't find a domestic source, they will have to purchase the more expensive imported goods. In many cases, the company will need to pass the additional cost on to the consumer in the form of increased product prices. This could reduce the company's revenue if sales decrease because of the company's higher prices.


What Is the Difference Between a Gross Lease, Modified Gross Lease and Net Lease?

Response: Gross lease is where the landlord pays for operating expenses, while a net lease means the tenant takes on the property expenses. A modified gross lease means that the operative expenses are borne by the tenant and the landlord.


What Is an Example of a Mission Statement?

Response: Microsoft's mission statement is: "Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."


Are Mortgage Rates Going Up or Down in 2023?

Response: You and every economist in the country want the answer to this question, but one reliable source is Sam Khater, chief economist for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., also known as Freddie Mac.On June 15, 2023, Khater noted that mortgage rates had decreased slightly the previous week in anticipation of a pause in rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. He expects rates to continue to decline into next year."As inflation continues to decelerate, economic growth is slowing and the tightening cycle of monetary policy is reaching its apex, which means mortgage rates are expected to decrease later this year and into next," he said in a statement.


Response: Depends on your perspective. If you were around in 1980, or even 1990, the average 7.2% rate for mid-July 2023 looks pretty good to you. If you were house-shopping during the Great Recession that followed the 2008-2009 financial meltdown, the current rate looks high.In fact, mortgage rates stayed at a historically low level from the Great Recession through the height of the Covid pandemic.Now, rates have climbed back to a level that might be considered closer to normal.


Response: Marketing is important for a few reasons. First, marketing campaigns may be the first time a customer interacts or is exposed to a company's product. A company has the opportunity to educate, promote, and encourage potential buyers.Marketing also helps shape the brand image a company wants to convey. For example, an outdoor camping gear company that wants to be known for its rugged, tough goods can embark on specific campaigns that embody these traits and make these emotions memorable to prospective customers.


Response: A flat tax, also known as a regressive tax, applies the same tax rate to every taxpayer regardless of income bracket. A flat tax typically applies the same tax rate to all taxpayers with no deductions or exemptions allowed. Most flat tax systems or proposals do not tax income from dividends, distributions, capital gains, or other investments.


Response: The Medallion stamp is valid for the date it is signed.


Response: Broadly speaking, multilevel marketing is a sales structure where members of a company are encouraged to recruit new members. Once recruited, this salesperson receives a cut of their recruiter's sales. At the same time, each salesperson profits from the sale of a given product. MLMs are often legal, legitimate businesses whose distributors earn money from the sale of actual products and from commissions on products sold by distributors that they recruit.


Response: A marketing plan template is a document that an individual can use to create a marketing plan. The marketing plan template will contain all the important elements and the various needed language with blank sections. A user can insert their own information related to their business in the blank sections to ultimately create their own marketing plan.


Response: A bottom-up marketing strategy focuses on discovering a workable strategy and then building on that strategy to create an impactful advertising campaign. Today's consumer wants to relate to a product or service in a meaningful way and a bottom-up marketing strategy is better suited to this. A bottom-up marketing strategy should focus on the target market and how better to create value for them.


Response: Inflation can contribute to market risk by impacting business performance, consumer behavior, and investor confidence. Monetary policy may be used to counter inflation through higher interest rates, which can in turn lead to a recession, causing the entire market to slow down.This is different from inflationary risk, or the possibility that the rising prices caused by inflation could outpace the returns from your investment.Inflationary risk is not a specific type of market risk because it doesn’t impact the overall performance of financial markets. However, it is a type of investing risk. Diversification, investing early to take advantage of compound interest, and investing more aggressively when you are younger can all help minimize inflationary risk.


Can You Withdraw Money From a Money Purchase Plan?

Response: Like other retirement plans, withdrawals before age 59-1/2 will incur a penalty. After retirement age, money can be distributed as a lump sum or as an annuity.


What Is an Example of a Price Competition?

Response: Consider the way that a consumer might shop for fruits and vegetables. They may browse produce sectinos at grocery stores, farmer's markets, superstores, and discount retailers across their city. Because there are many firms that sell produce, there will be some that set lower prices than others to entice shoppers. This is a form of price competition.


How Can I Avoid Paying Mortgage Insurance?

Response: If you don't want to pay private mortgage insurance when you borrow funds for a new home, you'll need to put down at least 20%. Depending on the lender, you might also be able to avoid PMI by choosing a mortgage with a higher interest rate that compensates the lender for the additional risk. However, some loans, such as FHA loans, will require mortgage insurance premiums regardless of the equity you hold in the home.


Response: A special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger generally occurs when a publicly traded SPAC uses the public markets to raise capital to buy an operating company. The operating company merges with an SPAC and becomes a publicly-listed company.


Response: Manufacturing is the process of converting a raw material into a finished, tangible product. Manufacturing entails making a process efficient as it converts specific resources into a different resource, often to be sold to a customer.


Response: Indexes provide investors with a simplified snapshot of a large market sector, without having to examine every single asset in that index. For example, it would be impractical for an ordinary investor to study hundreds of different stock prices in order to understand the changing fortunes of different technology companies; however, a sector-wide index like the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index can show the average trend for the sector.


How Does M&A Activity Affect Shareholders?

Response: Generally speaking, in the days leading up to a merger or acquisition, shareholders of the acquiring firm will see a temporary drop in share value. At the same time, shares in the target firm typically experience a rise in value. This is often due to the fact that the acquiring firm will need to spend capital to acquire the target firm at a premium to the pre-takeover share prices.After a merger or acquisition officially takes effect, the stock price usually exceeds the value of each underlying company during its pre-takeover stage. In the absence of unfavorable economic conditions, shareholders of the merged company usually experience favorable long-term performance and dividends.Note that the shareholders of both companies may experience a dilution of voting power due to the increased number of shares released during the merger process. This phenomenon is prominent in stock-for-stock mergers, when the new company offers its shares in exchange for shares in the target company, at an agreed-upon conversion rate. Shareholders of the acquiring company experience a marginal loss of voting power, while shareholders of a smaller target company may see a significant erosion of their voting powers in the relatively larger pool of stakeholders.


Is a Modified Endowment Contract a Good Thing?

Response: Generally speaking, converting a life insurance policy to an MEC isn't good. This is because the MEC loses many of its prior tax advantages in place when it was classified as life insurance. However, purposefully creating an MEC can be an estate planning tool under certain circumstances.


Response: For depositors, most money market accounts are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per institution. Because money market instruments are very low risk, there is virtually no chance you will lose your money by owning a CD or T-bill either. During periods of extreme financial stress, for example, during the height of the 2008 financial crisis, some money market funds did "break the buck" and briefly incur losses, but this was quickly corrected.


Response: MSCI provides tools to support and inform the investment industry. The firm provides research, data, and tools to help clients analyze and invest in different global markets. MSCI is also known for its stock indexes, which are used as benchmarks for funds tracking different global markets.


Response: The MSCI All Country World Index includes nearly 3,000 stocks from 47 markets. It includes both developed and emerging markets around the world.


Response: A multinational corporation has business offices and operations in two or more countries. These companies are often managed from a central office headquartered in the home country. Simply exporting goods for sale abroad does not make a business a multinational company.


Response: While star ratings provide an easy heuristic for measuring risk-adjusted return in the past, they tend to be relatively poor predictors of future performance. A research study by Vanguard found that Morningstar ratings did not predict a profitable investment relative to a fund's benchmark. Moreover, the study found that one-star funds had the greatest excess returns of all compared to their benchmarks.


What Is the Margin of Safety in Dollars?

Response: The margin of safety in dollars is calculated as current sales minus breakeven sales.


What Is the Standard Deduction for Married Filing Jointly?

Response: The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly in the 2023 tax year is $27,700. This is the amount that is not subject to taxation. This threshold increases to $29,200 in 2024.


Response: Management buyouts work when one or more members of a company's management team want to buy the operations from the owner(s). The goal is to take the company private to help it grow and succeed. These buyouts are typically funded with one or more types of financing, including debt and equity.


Can I Use Market Sentiment Indicators To Predict Stock Market Crashes?

Response: Market sentiment indicators like the VIX can help decipher the mood and expectations of investors, but they are not foolproof for predicting market crashes. These indicators reflect current or short-term expectations of volatility but cannot account for unforeseen events or long-term economic trends.


Response: Countries that have a mixed economy include the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, and India.


What Factors Are Evaluated in a Monte Carlo Simulation?

Response: A Monte Carlo simulation in investing is based on historical price data on the asset or assets being evaluated.The building blocks of the simulation, derived from the historical data, are drift, standard deviation, variance, and average price movement.


Response: Obtaining an MBA is considered a very strenuous endeavor. For starters, MBAs are usually more difficult to get into. Candidates may find it demanding to compile a resume impressive enough to be accepted into their goal program. MBA programs may also be expensive. Not only is there is a considerable financial burden, MBA candidates may have to scale back or step away from work as they pursue their degree. Though an MBA carries substantial long-term value, there are several short-term hurdles a candidate must overcome.


How Does the M1 Money Supply Affect Inflation?

Response: As the Federal Reserve increases the money supply, money is easier to come by. Debt usually costs less, or tax breaks approved by the Federal government may reduce tax liabilities. As a result, consumers have more capital available to spend. An unfortunate downside of increasing the money supply is that the demand for goods broadly increases as consumers have greater purchasing power. As a result, prices for good broadly tend to increase. For example, when the cost of debt is low and the money supply increases, the cost of taking a home mortgage (i.e. mortgage rates) are low, thus applying upward pressure on housing prices.


What's the Difference Between Monetary Base and Money Supply?

Response: A country's monetary base includes any currency in circulation as well as money held in reserves at banks and with the central bank. The money supply of a country, on the other hand, refers to the total amount of money in circulation. This includes banknotes, coins, and money held by consumers at bank accounts.


How Do You Verify Material Participation?

Response: Taxpayers need to keep records of the number of hours of material participation in an activity, and be able to provide written evidence if need be. Tasks an investor might typically undertake, like reviewing stock charts, would not meet the participation burden, unless that taxpayer was substantially involved in the management of a particular activity.


Response: Poverty is considered to be a result of market failure. When a recession hits, the poverty rate increases because employees lose their jobs or lose working hours, which results in no income or less income. Inequality, which is a component of market failure, can eventually lead to poverty when wealth is not distributed equally throughout society. This can be remedied with government intervention, such as by taxing the wealthy more or incorporating subsidies for those below the poverty level.


What Does a Marketing Strategy Look Like?

Response: A marketing strategy will detail the advertising, outreach, and public relations campaigns to be carried out by a firm, including how the company will measure the effect of these initiatives.They will typically follow the four Ps. The functions and components of a marketing plan include market research to support pricing decisions and new market entries, tailored messaging that targets certain demographics and geographic areas, and platform selection for product and service promotion—digital, radio, Internet, trade magazines, and the mix of those platforms for each campaign, and metrics that measure the results of marketing efforts and their reporting timelines.


What Are the General Terms of a Microfinance Loan?

Response: Like conventional lenders, microfinanciers must charge interest on loans, and they institute specific repayment plans with payments due at regular intervals. Some lenders require loan recipients to set aside a part of their income in a savings account, which can be used as insurance if the customer defaults. If the borrower repays the loan successfully, then they have gained accrued extra savings.


What Is the Difference Between Market Penetration and Market Share?

Response: Though both terms are used interchangeably, market penetration and market share are different. Market penetration is often used to describe just the percentage of target audience a company sells to, while market share takes a more holistic approach and looks at the percentage of the total addressable market a company sells to.


What does marginal propensity to save (MPS) describe?

Response: Marginal propensity to save (MPS) refers to the amount of a raise in income that a person saves as opposed to spends.


Response: One of main benefits of the make to stock (MTS) production strategy is the ability to produce inventory based on anticipated consumer demand. MTS allows a company to avoid having to much or too little inventory.


When Should a Business Shut Down, When Considering Marginal Profit?

Response: If marginal profit is negative at all levels of production, the firm's best course of action is probably to cease all production for the time being, rather than keep producing units at a loss.


What Does Fixed vs. Variable Mean on a Mortgage?

Response: Many mortgages carry a fixed interest rate. This means that the rate will not change for the entire term of the mortgage—typically 15 or 30 years—even if interest rates rise or fall in the future. A variable- or adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) has an interest rate that fluctuates over the loan’s life based on what interest rates are doing.


What Is the Difference Between MAGI and AGI?

Response: Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is your adjusted gross income (AGI) plus additional items such as student loan interest, qualified education expenses, passive income or losses, IRA contributions, and foreign income, among others.


Response: They're important to the Fed, policymakers, economists, and investors, because they can signal potential for slowing economic growth, inflation, deflation, unemployment, and recession.


What Criteria Do Lenders Use to Calculate the Maximum Loan Amount?

Response: Lenders will consider several factors including credit score, debt-to-income ratio, the purpose of the loan, the type of loan, and more. In general, the lower your debt-to-income ratio and the higher your credit score, the higher you can expect the maximum loan amount to be.


Response: Marginal cost is the cost to produce one additional unit of production. It is an important concept in cost accounting as marginal cost helps determine the most efficient level of production for a manufacturing process. It is calculated by determining what expenses are incurred if only one additional unit is manufactured.


Response: In a skewed data set, the mean and median will typically be different. The mean is calculated by adding up all of the values in the data and dividing by the number of observations. If there are sizable outliers, or if the data clumps around certain values, the mean (average) will not be the midpoint of the data.For instance, in a set of data {0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 10, 10} the average would be 24/8 = 3. The median, however, would be 1 (the midpoint value).This is why many economists favor the median for reporting a nation's income or wealth, since it is more representative of the actual income distribution.


What Is the Difference Between an Exempt Employee and a Non-Exempt Employee?

Response: The difference between an exempt employee and a non-exempt employee is that non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay. Exempt employees, on the other hand, do not qualify for overtime pay.


How Does a Covered Call Differ from a Naked Call?

Response: A covered call strategy involves selling call options while simultaneously owning an equal number of shares in the underlying asset. This approach is considered safer than selling naked calls because the potential losses are offset by gains in the owned shares if the stock price rises. The primary goal of a covered call is to generate income through the premiums received, with the security of owning the underlying asset to cover the obligation if the option is exercised.


Response: It's an economic model or philosophy that emphasizes that, in a free society, greater economic and social progress can be made when government regulation is minimized, government spending and taxes are reduced, and the government doesn't have strict control over the economy. Neoliberalism does not oppose all government intervention. However, it does wish to see it limited to only when it's necessary to support free markets and free enterprise.


Response: State laws differ on the legality and enforceability of non-competes. The law firm Beck Reed Riden LLP has surveyed states and compiled a list of their stances on non-compete agreements, protected interests, standards, and exemptions.


Response: The NSE was established in 1992 but didn't commence operations until 1994.


Response: The exchange believes its purpose is to improve the financial well-being of people. Key characteristics are reliability, expertise, innovation and trust.


What Are Some Flaws In Natural Law Theory?

Response: Since natural law assumes universalizing rules, it does not account for the fact that different people or different cultures may view the world differently. For instance, if people interpret differently what it means for something to be fair or just, the results will differ.


Are Non-Executive Directors Compensated?

Response: Most non-executive directors are compensated for their time. Compensation can be through fees, equity, or cash. Their compensation can be high because of their experience and connections within their respective industries.


Response: Because NFC draws battery power, and because it could pose potential security risks such as digital pickpocketing, NFC should usually be turned off when not in use.


Response: The Housing Act of 1949 was passed to help address the decline of urban housing following the post-World War II exodus to the suburbs. A part of the Harry Truman administration’s “Fair Deal,” it provided governance over how government financial resources would shape the growth of American cities, specifically by increasing the FHA’s mortgage insurance—thus making home financing and homeownership more widespread—and providing federal funds for slum clearance and public housing projects, committing the government to build 810,000 new units.The consensus is that the act mostly failed, in part because large-scale slum clearance proved a crude and largely unworkable redevelopment method. Urban renewal also failed because concerns over social equity, such as where to house dislocated people, were inadequately addressed. Twenty-five years after the act’s passage, many observers concluded that public housing and urban renewal programs were fostering the slums and blight that they were meant to eradicate.However, the act’s homeownership goals were, by and large, met successfully: Expanding FHA authorization did make it easier for many Americans to own homes—although FHA guidelines did still discriminate against non-White borrowers.


Response: The net asset value per share (NAVPS) of a fund is reported with its price quote with a broker or online financial portal. This value differs slightly from the fund's actual market price since NAVPS is calculated once per day, while the assets held by a fund may change in price throughout the day.


What Is Natural vs. Cyclical Unemployment?

Response: The cyclical unemployment rate is the difference between the natural unemployment rate and the current rate of unemployment as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Response: Net income is what a business or individual makes after taxes, deductions, and other expenses are taken out, In business, net income is what a company has left after all expenses are subtracted, including taxes, wages, and the cost of goods.


Response: While investing in an NFO may present an opportunity for large profits, investors should be wary of investing their money into a fund with no proven track record of success.


Can a company with positive revenues still have a net loss?

Response: Yes, even if a company has a large volume of sales, it can still end up losing money if the cost of goods or other expenses related to those sales (e.g., marketing) are too high. Other factors like taxes, interest expenses, depreciation and amortization, and one-time charges like a lawsuit can also take a company from a profit to a net loss.


Response: Policyholders pay the insurance premiums. The pricing is based on them being either individuals or part of a group. The premiums paid are the costs associated with purchasing insurance for an individual or business.


Response: A premium tax credit (PTC) is a credit available to families that helps them pay for premiums for health insurance bought through the Health Insurance Marketplace. It is a refundable credit.


Response: The fees to be a notary vary by state. In some states, notaries are required to recertify, adding to the costs. They also must buy their seal.


Response: N.V. stands for Naamloze Vennootschap, which is a public limited company in the Netherlands and other Dutch-influenced countries. The term Naamloze Vennootschap translates to nameless venture.


Response: A REIT can perform well during a recession if it invests in real estate holdings that are not affected by the market downturn. Some areas of real estate can outperform the general market during a recession. But REITs would underperform compared to a market index (such as the S&P500) if a recession hit the real estate sector particularly hard.


Should I Invest in a Mutual Fund With a High NAVPS?

Response: Some investors may incorrectly believe that a high NAVPS means it is too expensive and will provide a poor return on investment. However, mutual funds with both high and low NAVPS can perform well because the NAVPS is not an indicator of the performance of the fund.The NAVPS is simply the dollar amount per unit. If you have $20,000 to invest, you could receive 200 units of a mutual fund with a NAVPS of $100 or 100 units of a mutual fund with a NAVPS of $200.


Response: After NAFTA went into full effect, U.S. and Mexican investments in Canada tripled. U.S. investment alone grew from $70 billion in 1993 to more than $368 billion in 2013.


Response: Whether a debt is a recourse or nonrecourse loan often depends on state law.Some states may require that all mortgages are nonrecourse debt and in the instance of a default, lenders cannot pursue a deficiency judgment after collateral has been seized.


Response: Net profit margin is perhaps the most important measure of a company’s overall profitability. It is the ratio of net profits to revenues for a company or business segment. Expressed as a percentage, the net profit margin shows how much profit is generated from every $1 in sales, after accounting for all business expenses involved in earning those revenues. Larger profit margins mean that more of every dollar in sales is kept as profit.


Response: Negative assurance refers to the level of certainty that something is accurate because no proof to the contrary is present. In other words, since there is no proof that the information is inaccurate or that deceptive practices (e.g., fraud) occurred, it is presumed to be accurate.


Response: Net present value is important because it allows businesses and investors to assess the profitability of a project or investment, taking into account the cost of capital and the expected rate of return. By discounting future cash flows to their present value, NPV helps in making informed choices, ensuring that undertaken projects contribute positively to the overall financial health and growth.


What Is the Difference Between NPV and Internal Rate of Return (IRR)?

Response: NPV and internal rate of return (IRR) are closely related concepts, in that the IRR of an investment is the discount rate that would cause that investment to have an NPV of zero. Another way of thinking about the differences is that they are both trying to answer two separate but related questions about an investment. For NPV, the question is, “What is the total amount of money I will make if I proceed with this investment, after taking into account the time value of money?” For IRR, the question is, “If I proceed with this investment, what would be the equivalent annual rate of return that I would receive?”


How Much Does Early Retirement Affect Social Security Benefits?

Response: You can take Social Security benefits as early as age 62 but doing so will permanently reduce your benefits to 70% of what you would have received at full retirement age.


Response: Net interest income is the difference between the revenue a bank earns from its interest-bearing assets and the expenses of its interest-bearing liabilities.


Response: Numismatic gold refers to collectible gold coins that hold more value than the spot or current market price of gold. The increased value is largely due to rarity, age, and other factors.


Response: The Smithsonian Collection is revered as the biggest coin collection in the United States and one of the largest in the world, with more than 1.6 million objects in its collection.


Response: Non-negotiable documents are contracts that are issued to a single owner. They cannot be readily transferred to another owner.For example, U.S. government savings bonds are non-negotiable, meaning they can only be cashed by the owner of the bond.


Why Do Investors Care More About Real Interest Rates?

Response: To avoid purchasing power erosion through inflation, investors consider the real interest rate, rather than the nominal rate. One way to estimate the real rate of return in the United States is to observe the interest rates on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). The difference between the yield on a Treasury bond and the yield on TIPS of the same maturity provides an estimate of inflation expectations in the economy.


How Do You Calculate the Effective Rate If Nominal Rate Is Known?

Response: The effective rate, which factors in compounding, can be calculated from the nominal rate which is often the rate that is stated. The formula for effective interest rate (e) is:e = (1 + n/m)^m - 1(where n = nominal rate and m = number of compounding periods)


Response: Cost basis is the original purchase price for an asset, and it is used to calculate the profit or loss that a taxpayer gets from selling that asset. For investments, the cost basis of a security may be adjusted due to stock splits, dividends, and other corporate actions.


What Is a Normative Statement in Economics?

Response: In economics, normative statements are those that state a value judgment or preference on one outcome over another. Statements on how to prevent certain tragedies, raise wages or otherwise improve conditions are considered normative statements.


Response: The Nasdaq 100 is made up of the 100 largest companies by modified market cap that trade on Nasdaq exchanges in the basic materials, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, healthcare, industrials, technology, telecommunications, and utilities sectors.


Response: In bond trading, a notch is a measure of the difference in credit risk between two bonds, usually issued by the same issuer. It is calculated by taking the difference in the credit ratings of the two bonds and expressing it in terms of notches. For example, if one bond has a credit rating of A- and another bond has a credit rating of BBB+, the difference in credit risk between the two bonds would be expressed as one notch.


Response: Statistical hypotheses are tested by a four-step process. The first step is for the analyst to state the two hypotheses so that only one can be right. The next step is to formulate an analysis plan, which outlines how the data will be evaluated. The third step is to carry out the plan and physically analyze the sample data. The fourth and final step is to analyze the results and either reject the null hypothesis or claim that the observed differences are explainable by chance alone.


Is the U.S. Dollar Stronger Than the Norwegian Krone?

Response: The U.S. dollar is stronger than the Norwegian Krone and has steadily strengthened against it since 2015. This is likely due to changes in the respective interest rates between the two countries, fluctuations in the price of oil, and the weakening of the Eurozone economy.


What Is the Norwegian Krone to USD Exchange Rate?

Response: One U.S. dollar is equal to 9.77 Norwegian Krone (NOK) as of August 23, 2022.


Is the Norwegian Krone a Good Investment?

Response: Although the Norwegian Krone (NOK) is generally considered a safe and reliable currency, it falls to each individual investor to decide whether it is worth investing in.


Response: An advance fee scam happens when a victim pays money to a fraudster who has promised something of greater value in return—such as a gift, contract, loan, or investment. The victim, of course, receives little or nothing, even if they cooperate with the scammer's demands. The Nigerian letter scam is an example of an advance fee scam because the victim is promised a cut of a large sum of money in exchange for providing banking details and making upfront payments.


What Is the Relationship Between the Official Settlement Account and a Country's Exchange Rate Policy?

Response: OSAs play a key role in implementing a country's exchange rate policy. If the national currency is depreciating, the central bank can use foreign currency reserves to purchase its own currency, which increases demand and can help strengthen the exchange rate. Conversely, if the currency is appreciating too much and impacting exports, the central bank can sell foreign currency to weaken the exchange rate.


Do Seniors Get Exemptions on the Sale of Their Homes?

Response: Seniors, along with anyone, can receive a tax exemption on the amount of money they earn from selling their home if they meet specific criteria, such as having owned and lived in their home for two years before they sold.


How Do Offshore Banking Units Handle Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer Regulations?

Response: Offshore banking units handle AML and KYC regulations through robust policies, conducting thorough customer due diligence, monitoring transactions, reporting suspicious activities, and ensuring ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements to prevent money laundering and illicit financing.


Response: With deferred compensation, the plan withholds a portion of your pay until a specific date, usually when you retire. It is part of your salary that is not paid or taxed until the future. Deferred compensation is usually used as an incentive to hold onto key employees.


Response: OID is a form of interest on a debt instrument such as a bond or note issued at less than its face amount. A debt instrument generally has a discount when it's issued for a price less than its stated redemption price at maturity. For tax purposes, this interest is considered income.


Why Is an Organizational Chart Important?

Response: Org charts depict an organization's hierarchy, which can clearly identify seniority and lines of authority that ought to be followed. It can also show which roles are responsible for what tasks, divisions, departments, or regions. This can remove ambiguity and improve communication.


Why Do Out of the Money Options Have Value Prior to Expiration?

Response: Out of the money options still have time (extrinsic) value. This is because there is some probability that the option will finish in the money come expiration. Thus, the longer until expiration, the more valuable an out of the money will be, all else equal, since with more time, there are more chances for the underlying to move favorably.


Response: OPEC's main goal is to maintain oil prices at a profitable level for its members while keeping the market as free as possible from restrictions. The organization ensures its members receive a steady stream of income from an uninterrupted supply of oil.


What Are the 3 Levels of Organizational Behavior?

Response: The first is the individual level, which involves organizational psychology and understanding human behavior and incentives. The second level is groups, which involves social psychology and sociological insights into human interaction and group dynamics. The top-level is the organizational level, where organization theory and sociology come into play to undertake systems-level analyses and the study of how firms engage with one another in the marketplace.


What Is a Good Operating Cash Flow Ratio?

Response: The operating cash flow ratio represents a company's ability to pay its debts with its existing cash flows. It is determined by dividing operating cash flow by current liabilities. A ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that a company is in a strong position to pay its debts without incurring additional liabilities.


Response: Some traders follow something called the "10 a.m. rule." The stock market opens for trading at 9:30 a.m., and the time between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. often has significant trading volume. Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour. For example, if a stock closed at $40 the previous day, opened at $42 the next, and reached $43 by 10 a.m., this would indicate that the stock is likely to remain above $42 by market close.


Are There Strategies For Trading Based on the Closing Price of a Stock?

Response: Yes, several strategies are used that focus on the closing price of a stock. The closing price—the last price at which a stock trades during a regular session—is the focus of the end-of-day trading strategies, which involves deciding trades based on the price moves at the end of the trading day. Traders look for signals from the closing price to predict the next day's market direction. A prominent method is the closing price reversion strategy, where, if a stock's closing price deviates significantly from its historical average, traders try to profit should it revert to the mean. Closing price breakout strategies involve looking for stocks whose closing prices have broken out of a particular range. For instance, a breakout above a resistance level could indicate a bullish trend.


Response: Market capitalization refers to the total dollar value of a company's outstanding shares. You can easily calculate this figure by multiplying the price of one share by the total number of shares outstanding.


What Are the Biggest Crypto Ponzi Schemes?

Response: There have been a number of other big Ponzi schemes in addition to OneCoin, the biggest crypto scheme ever. Bitconnect was exposed in 2018, ultimately crashing and causing its investors to lose $3.5 billion. PlusToken scammed investors until 2019, when it was closed down, after costing investors over $3 billion. GainBitcoin was an India-based coin that robbed investors of over $300 million before it closed down. Mining Max scammed investors out of $250 million until authorities shut it down in 2021.


Response: The OTC market is generally considered risky due to lenient reporting requirements and lower transparency associated with these securities. Many stocks that trade OTC have a lower share price and may be highly volatile. While some stocks in the OTC market are eventually listed on the major exchanges, other OTC stocks fail.


Response: Offshore accounts are perfectly legal, as long as they are not used for illicit purposes. But keep in mind, though, that hiding your offshore assets is illegal. This means you must report any and all offshore accounts you hold to your country's taxing authority.


Is the Bank Rate the Same as the Overnight Rate?

Response: No, the bank rate and the overnight rate are not the same. The bank rate is also known as the discount rate, which is the rate that banks can borrow from the central bank. The overnight rate, also known as the federal funds rate, is the rate at which banks can borrow from one another.


Response: While most economists accept the relationship between employment and output, there have been many periods where observed data departed from the predictions of the model. A review by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found that the relationship between unemployment and productivity tends to be unstable over longer time horizons, although Okun's law may still be useful to policymakers so long as they take these instabilities into account.


Response: On-chain governance is a blockchain voting system that grants stakeholders the ability and right to vote on and affect the outcomes of decisions about a blockchain's future.


When Is the Deadline to Submit an Order for the Opening Cross?

Response: Orders for the Opening Cross should be submitted before 9:28 a.m. Orders submitted after 9:28 a.m. are considered late regular-hours orders and treated as imbalance-only orders. Buy orders only execute at or below the 9:30 a.m. ask, while sell orders execute at or above the 9:30 a.m. bid price. These orders help add liquidity during the Opening Cross.


Response: Companies often gauge risk by determining whether it is highly likely, likely, possible, unlikely, or highly unlikely an event will occur. Highly likely is often assigned a percentage of greater than 90%, while likely includes a range that is always above 50%. Management uses these percentages to determine the best course of action when evaluating the cost of mitigation against the cost of a detrimental outcome.


What Is the Best Organizational Structure?

Response: There is no one best organizational structure, as it depends on the nature of the company and the industry it operates in.


Response: In cases of debt, the borrower or the one with the debt is the obligor. They have an obligation to pay the lender or bond issuer, or the obligee. In other cases, an obligor may not have a debt to an obligee, but they may be responsible for paying them, such as in cases of child support.


What Does Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Mean in Cars?

Response: In the auto repair industry, OEM parts are those products used by a car manufacturer. Aftermarket parts are made by a third-party manufacturer but may be compatible with the same vehicles.


What Does Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Mean in Software?

Response: In computer and electronics sales, OEM refers to the software or hardware pre-installed on a new computer or device.


Response: OEM parts tend to be more expensive than third-party manufacturers but are made to a more exact set of specifications. Some third-party products are considered as reliable as OEM parts, and others may be significantly cheaper. When searching for replacements, consumers should research different brands to determine which manufacturer offers the best combination of price and quality.


Can You Use Online Banking to Pay Bills?

Response: You can use online banking to pay bills by logging into your online banking account to arrange bill payments electronically or by check. Online bill pay is a simple way to take care of your bills and help ensure you're always on time with payment by setting up automatic payments. It works especially well for bills with regular, set amounts, such as a mortgage payment, insurance premium, or car payment.


Response: OTCM is run by itself. It is a publicly-traded company that is headquartered in New York. The President and CEO is Cromwell Coulson.


Response: One overnight trading strategy is to place orders just before the market closes and hold the position until the market opens the next day. Other traders use overnight trading to take advantage of market changes that occur after the markets close. However, keep in mind that overnight trading carries additional risks due to decreased volume, including lower liquidity and increased volatility. So it's important to manage those risks as well as you can.


Response: First seen as a formal business strategy in 1989, outsourcing is the process of hiring third parties to conduct services that were typically performed by the company. Often, outsourcing is used so that a company can focus on its core operations. It is also used to cut costs on labor, among others. While privacy has been a recent area of controversy for outsourcing contractors, it has also drawn criticism for its impact on the labor market in domestic economies.


Response: Consider a bank that outsources its customer service operations. Here, all customer-facing inquiries or complaints with concern to its online banking service would be handled by a third party. While choosing to outsource some business operations is often a complex decision, the bank determined that it would prove to be the most effective allocation of capital, given both consumer demand, the specialty of the third-party, and cost-saving attributes.


How Much Are Origination Points Usually?

Response: Origination points on residential mortgages tend to be between 0.50% and 1.50%, with 1.00% being the industry average.


Response: Operating profit is a useful and accurate indicator of a business's health because it removes any irrelevant factor from the calculation. Operating profit only takes into account those expenses that are necessary to keep the business running. This includes asset-related depreciation and amortization, which result from a firm's operations. Operating profit is also referred to as operating income.


Response: Operating profit is calculated by taking revenue and then subtracting the cost of goods sold, operating expenses, depreciation, and amortization.


How Long Does an Ombudsman Investigation Take?

Response: Investigations conducted by ombudsmen vary. The length is determined by the type and complexity of the complaint, available resources to resolve the complaint, as well as other factors. If simple, it could be six to eight weeks.


How Did You Trade in OTCBB Penny Stocks?

Response: Penny stocks didn't trade on the OTCBB. Penny stocks trade for less than $1 per share but they trade through a brokerage. The OTCBB helped track prices for penny stocks but did not facilitate penny stock trading.


Response: There are two key risks to trading OTC stocks: the first is the poor liquidity, as they are thinly traded; and the second is the lack of reliable information available about the company.


Response: OTC stocks are not available on RobinHood, although the trading app does allow the trading of certain penny stocks.


Response: No. A second home does not qualify as owner-occupied. If an owner decides later to make their second home their primary residence, then they could potentially refinance it at that point as their primary residence.


Response: Many different consensus algorithms are designed to bring a distributed ledger to a consensus. Most are constructed to have many transaction validators reach a majority agreement about the state of the blockchain and the transactions taking place.


What Are the Risks Associated With Project Finance?

Response: Some of the risks associated with project finance include volume, financial, and operational risk. Volume risk can be attributed to supply or consumption changes, competition, or changes in output prices. Inflation, foreign exchange, and interest rates often lead to financial risk. Operational risk is often defined by a company's operating performance, the cost of raw materials, and the cost of maintenance, among others.


Response: There are plenty of examples of PACs in various sizes. One of the biggest PACs in terms of contributions to candidates is the National Association of Realtors PAC, which was formed by the National Association of Realtors to promote the interests of its industry.


Response: Pro rata is a defined portion in relation to the entirety of an item. Instead of getting all of the items, someone can get a pro rata share, a proportional offering based on how much they are entitled to. For example, if I own 10% of a building, I may expect a pro rata share of 10% of the building's rental income.


Response: Naturally, calculating the pro rata of different items varies since it calculates a proportion of a given whole. To calculate the prorated interest rate over six months, for instance, consider a company that charges 20% interest per year. Here, the prorated interest rate would be calculated as (20% / 12) x 6 = 10%.


What Is the Difference Between Prepayment and Prepaid Expense?

Response: Prepayments and prepaid expenses are different from one another. A prepayment means that you are just paying your bill earlier. For example, if you have a debt obligation, such as a loan, and you owe $1,000 next month but decide to pay that amount this month, that is a prepayment. A prepaid expense on the other hand is any good or service that you've paid for but have not used yet.


Response: The answer to this question is complicated and nuanced. Social welfare programs and private philanthropy are some avenues through which to provide for those in poverty, along with access to essentials like clean water, good food, and adequate healthcare. However, more is needed. Programs that encourage impoverished individuals to obtain skills, jobs, and education are also important as a longer-term cure.


When Does a Proxy Statement Need To be Filed?

Response: Public companies must file a proxy statement before any meeting where the management submits proposals for a shareholder vote. This can include the election of directors, votes on shareholder proposals, or other corporate decision-making.


What Is the Relationship Between PVIF and PVIFA?

Response: The PVIF formula calculates the current worth of a lump sum to be received at a future date, while the PVIFA calculates the present value of a series of annuities.


How Can I Improve My Personal Productivity?

Response: Some basic ways to increase personal productivity on a daily basis include:Listing tasks in order of importance and tackling them one by oneCompleting your most hated tasks before all the othersTaking well-calculated breaks to boost overall productionExercising regularlyEating a healthy diet


How Do I Demonstrate Productivity at Work?

Response: Ways to show productivity at work are setting goals, focusing on one task at a time, meeting deadlines, being on time, taking breaks, focusing on the largest tasks first, blocking out your calendar, having productive meetings, and delegating tasks.


Response: Asset allocation involves spreading the investor's money among different asset classes so that risks are reduced and opportunities are maximized. Stocks, bonds, and cash are the three most common asset classes, but others include real estate, commodities, currencies, and crypto. Within each of these are sub-classes that play into a portfolios allocation. For instance, how much weight should be given to domestic vs. foreign stocks or bonds? How much to growth stocks vs. value stocks? And so on.


Response: Taxpayers must meet a number of different criteria in order to qualify for the EITC. For the 2023 tax year, those with no children filing as single, head of household, or married filing separately face an income limit of $17,640. For those married filing jointly, the income limit is $24,210. These income limits increase incrementally depending on the number of qualifying children. In addition, taxpayers must meet other criteria, such as limits on investment income.


What Are the Pros and Cons of a Promissory Note?

Response: A promissory note can be advantageous when an entity is unable to secure a loan from a traditional lender, such as a bank. However, promissory notes can be risky, as the lender may not have the same means and scale of resources as traditional financial institutions. At the same time, legal issues could arise for both the issuer and payee in the event of default. Because of this, getting a promissory note notarized can be important.


What Types of Documents Can Be Used As Proof of Funds?

Response: Common types of proof of funds documents include bank statements, investment account statements, balance certificates issued by financial institutions, and letters from financial institutions confirming the availability of funds.


Are There Any Specific Formatting Requirements for a Proof of Funds Document?

Response: While formatting requirements may vary, the document should clearly display necessary information such as the account holder's name, account number, financial institution details, and the available balance. In addition to substantiating the financial information, the user of the proof of funds documentation will want sufficient evidence that you are the owner of the account.


How Expensive Is the Positive Pay Service?

Response: The costs associated with the positive pay system depend entirely on where you bank. Other factors can also affect the fees, including your relationship with the bank, the type of client you are, and your net worth. Some banks offer the service for free while others charge monthly fees or offer it on a per-use basis.


How Do You Determine Per Capita Figures?

Response: To calculate per capita, simply divide the figure or value in question by the size of the population.


Which Comes First: Price Discovery or Valuation?

Response: Valuation comes first. A buyer or seller determines an acceptable price, or price range, for an asset based on many factors. In fundamental stock analysis, for example, this includes looking at a company's earnings history, its competition, its management, and the product plans it has in the pipeline. That gives the buyer a way to project a stock's potential growth and set a fair price or price range for it. The buyer only then is ready to enter the interactive process of price discovery.


Response: The primary market is like a debutante ball or a wedding: It marks the launch of a new security—a corporate stock shares or a bond—into the financial marketplace. Primary markets enable companies and governments to attract investors and raise money—to pay debts or to expand. They also enable investors with assets to put their money into, to generate income, or get in on the ground floor of a promising young venture.


What Is the Difference Between a PPO and a POS?

Response: The biggest difference between PPO and POS plans is generally flexibility. Both plans cover you whether you use providers and facilities in or out of the network. However, a POS requires you to have a primary care physician and get referrals from them if you want to see a specialist or anyone else. PPOs don't. Costs are another consideration. PPOs tend to be more expensive than POS plans—the premiums are higher and they usually come with deductibles that must be met before your coverage begins.


Response: If you pledge your assets as collateral for a loan, you will still own the pledged collateral. If you fail to make payments according to the terms of the loan, the lender could seize the collateral and you would no longer own it at that time.


Response: Price controls can be both good and bad. They help make certain goods and services, such as food and housing, more affordable and within reach of consumers. They can also help corporations by eliminating monopolies and opening up the market to more competition. But it can also have a negative effect, as it may lead to shortages or an overabundance of supplies, underground markets, and a decrease in the quality of goods and services available on the market.


What is the difference between gross national income (GNI) and personal income?

Response: Personal income focuses on how much money a country’s inhabitants are earning. Gross national income (GNI), on the other hand, reveals the total amount of money earned by a nation’s residents and businesses.


Response: Similar to the Porter Diamond Model, Porter's Five Forces model of business strategy identifies and analyzes five competitive forces that shape every industry and help determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths.


What's the Difference Between the Producer Price Index and the Consumer Price Index?

Response: Both the CPI and the PPI measure inflation. PPI measures inflation from the viewpoint of the producers; the average selling price they receive for their output over a period of time. The CPI measures inflation from the viewpoint of the consumer; the value of a basket of goods and services that consumers have bought over a period of time.


What Is the Best Example of a Population?

Response: Imagine you're a teacher trying to see how well your fifth-grade math class did on a standardized test compared to all fifth-graders in the U.S. The population would be all fifth-grade math scores in the country.


What's the Difference Between Pro Forma and GAAP Financials?

Response: There are no universal rules that companies must follow when reporting pro forma earnings. This is why it is important for investors to distinguish between pro forma earnings and those reported using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).GAAP enforces strict guidelines when companies report earnings, while pro forma figures are better thought of as hypothetical earnings.For this reason, investors must examine not only the pro forma earnings, but also GAAP earnings, and never mistake one for the other.


Can You Compare Pro Forma Statements From Different Companies?

Response: Maybe, but it is not advised. Companies' definitions of pro forma vary along with their internal methods for forecasting and making assumptions.If you don't know how each of the companies defines its pro forma figures, you may be comparing apples to oranges.


Response: The partnership itself does not pay business taxes. Instead, taxes are passed through to the individual partners to file on their own tax returns, often via a Schedule K.


What Causes the Principal-Agent Problem?

Response: The primary cause of the principal-agent problem is agency costs. These costs arise due to the inability of the principal to constantly monitor the work of the agent, which could result in the agent avoiding responsibilities, making poor decisions, or acting in a way contrary to the benefit of the principal.


What Is a Good Way to Overcome the Principal-Agent Problem?

Response: A good way to overcome the principal-agent problem is by aligning the interests of both the principal and the agent and removing any conflict of interest. One of the best ways to do this is by aligning the compensation of the agent to a performance evaluation. If the agent performs well, they will see a direct financial benefit; if they perform poorly, the opposite will be true. Methods to achieve a link between performance and compensation are stock options, deferred-compensation plans, and profit sharing.


Response: If you are tracking a particular stock’s price increase, use the formula (New Price - Old Price)/Old Price and then multiply that number by 100. If the price decreased, use the formula (Old Price - New Price)/Old Price and multiply that number by 100.


How Does a Commercial Invoice Differ From a Pro Forma Invoice?

Response: A traditional commercial invoice for international shipments must list substantial information such as the buyer and the seller, a description of the goods, the quantity, the value for all the shipped items, the location of the purchase, currency, mode of transport, payment terms and method of payment. A pro forma invoice requires only enough information to allow customs to determine the duties on the shipment, from a general examination of the included goods.


Response: Paid-in capital appears as a credit (that is, an increase) to the paid-in capital section of the balance sheet, and as a debit, or increase, to cash.If not distinguished as its own line item, there will be a debit to cash for the total amount received and credits to common or preferred stock and additional paid-in capital.


Is My Debit Card's CVV Number the Same as a PIN?

Response: No, a debit card's CVV number is different from a PIN. A CVV is used when making payments online or over the phone to verify the physical card's information. A PIN is more useful to authorize in-person transactions to ensure the user using the card is an authorized person that is allowed to spend using the card.


Response: While private equity funds are exempt from regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the Securities Act of 1933, their managers remain subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as well as the anti-fraud provisions of federal securities laws. In February 2022, the SEC proposed extensive new reporting and client disclosure requirements for private fund advisers including private equity fund managers. The new rules would require private fund advisers registered with the SEC to provide clients with quarterly statements detailing fund performance, fees, and expenses, and to obtain annual fund audits. All fund advisors would be barred from providing preferential terms for one client in an investment vehicle without disclosing this to the other investors in the same fund.


Response: It's useful for investors to understand their biases, where losses tend to cause greater emotional impact than the equivalent gain. The prospect theory helps describe how decisions are made by investors.


Response: A probability density function (PDF) explains which values are likely to appear in a data-generating process at any given time or for any given draw. A cumulative distribution function (CDF) instead depicts how these marginal probabilities add up, ultimately reaching 100% (or 1.0) of possible outcomes. Using a CDF, we can see how likely it is that a variable's outcome will be less than or equal to some predicted value.


Do I Pay the Same Percentage of Tax on All My Income?

Response: No. With a progressive tax, you only pay your highest percentage on the portion of income that exceeds the minimum threshold. For example, if a single person makes $100,000 in 2023, they fall into the 24% bracket (as well as lower brackets). However, only the portion of their income that exceeds the bracket's minimum threshold of over $95,375 is taxed at that rate. Thus, income is taxed at 10% on the first $11,000, then 12% on income up to $44,725, and 22% on income up to $95,375. In this scenario, only $4,625 ($100,000 - $95,375) would be taxed at 24%.


What Information Is Normally in a Prospectus?

Response: A prospectus includes pertinent information such as a brief summary of the company’s background and financial information. The name of the company and its principals, age of the company, management experience, and management's involvement in the business. Furthermore, the number of shares being issued, the type of securities being offered, whether an offering is public or private, and the names of the banks or financial companies performing the underwriting are also listed.


How Do You File an Objection in Probate Court?

Response: The probate court website usually has forms available to file an objection, whether it's an objection to tampering with the will, forgery, or something else. These forms must be submitted at the beginning of the process.


What Is the Difference Between a Contract and Promissory Estoppel?

Response: In contract law, the doctrine of consideration states that there must be an exchange of consideration in order for a contract to be enforced. If one party fails to uphold their end of a contract, the other party can withdraw from that contract.Promissory estoppel is the exception to this rule. Under the doctrine of promissory estoppel, even the existence of a promise may be sufficient to enforce an agreement, if the other party has suffered damage as a result of acting on that promise.


Response: A payment bond is similar to a performance bond, but it is used to guarantee payment to the contractors and subcontractors in the event that the principal becomes insolvent or otherwise unable to pay.


Are All Companies Required to Prepare P&L Statements?

Response: Publicly traded companies are required to prepare P&L statements and must file their financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) so that they can be scrutinized by investors, analysts, and regulators. Companies must comply with a set of rules and guidelines known as generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) when they prepare these statements.Private companies, on the other hand, are not necessarily required to comply with GAAP. Some smaller companies, though, may not even prepare formal financial statements at all.


How Big Is the Market for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending?

Response: The global peer-to-peer lending market was worth $134.35 billion in 2022, according to figures from SNS Insider. This figure is projected to reach $705.81 billion by 2030.


Is Anything Being Done to Shorten Post-Trade Processing?

Response: Yes. In Spring of 2022, the SEC announced a new proposal to shorten the clearing time for most stock trades to T+1 and solicit comment on further shortening it to same-day settlement, or T+0. If approved, the proposal anticipates an effective date around Q1 2024.


What Kinds of Securities Currently Clear T+2? T+1?

Response: Most stocks, ETFs, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and spot FX trades settle T+2. Listed options and government securities clear T+1. Certificates of deposit (CDs) and commercial paper settle T+0.


Response: Pari-passu is a Latin phrase used in contract law that describes situations where two or more assets, securities, creditors, or obligations are equally managed without preference. The term is most commonly found in reference to elements of bankruptcies, loans, and bonds.


What Are the Four Types of Permanent Life Insurance?

Response: The four types of permanent life insurance policies are universal life, whole life, variable universal life, and variable life.


What Is the Corollary to the Peter Principle?

Response: Peter's Corollary is an extension of the Peter Principle. It states that in time, every position within an organization will be filled with someone who is not competent to fulfill the duties of their role. This may result in compounded mismanagement and poor leadership.


Response: Sometimes dubbed "the Paula Principle," this rule states that women tend to work in positions that are below the level of their competence. Tom Schuller, who coined the term, suggested five potential reasons for this competency gap:Sexist discrimination still exists.Women lack the "old boy's network" of professional contacts that male colleagues use to gain promotions.Women are more likely to admit that they lack some of the skills for a job.Women bear most of the burdens of child care.Women may make a "positive choice" not to rise as high as they might.


Response: Prior the advent of refrigeration, pork barrels were literal barrels made of wood, which preserved salted pork. Today, the term has become an emblem of wasteful government spending.


Response: One of the most infamous and commonly cited examples of pork barrel spending is a proposed $400 million bridge, which would have connected the town of Ketchika, Alaska, with Gravina Island, where there was located an airport. Elected officials from Alaska were vocal proponents of the proposal, but it was held up as an egregious example of a pork barrel project, and eventually scrapped.


How Is the Profitability Index Computed?

Response: The profitability index is a calculation determined by dividing the present value of futures cash flows by the initial investment in the project. The present value of the future cash flows is calculated using the time value of money, which takes into account the fact that money today is worth more than the same amount of money in the future due to the potential for earning interest. The initial investment is the amount of capital required to start the project.


What's the Difference Between a Ponzi Scheme and a Pyramid Scheme?

Response: Both a Ponzi scheme and a pyramid scheme rely on a steady stream of new investors who are motivated by reports of the big profits earned by early investors.A Ponzi scheme repays each investor using money deposited by new investors, falsifying records of nonexistent transactions to characterize the money as profit.A pyramid scheme usually promises a lucrative business opportunity that requires an initial investment. Each investor is rewarded for attracting new investors. The earliest participants really do make a profit, earning money for every new recruit and those the new recruit signs up. Each new recruit makes less money than the previous one until no more recruits can be found.


Response: Property taxes are determined by multiplying a tax rate, determined by the local tax authority, by the assessed value of the property. If the value of a property is $100,000 and the tax rate is 4%, the property taxes are $4,000.


Do Shareholders Get Anything if a Company Goes Private?

Response: Yes. Shareholders first must agree to give up ownership in the company in exchange for some amount of money. If approved, all shareholders will receive a certain amount per share, often at a premium to the market price. Afterward, they are no longer shareholders and the company's shares would be de-listed from exchanges.


Where Can I Find Information on OTC Bitcoin Investing?

Response: The SEC provides information on OTC offerings and states that digital assets and technology bring increased risk of fraud and manipulation because the markets for these assets are less regulated than traditional capital markets.


Response: Portfolio variance measures the risk in a given portfolio, based on the variance of the individual assets that make up the portfolio. The portfolio variance is equal to the portfolio’s standard deviation squared.


What Are the Elements of Product Differentiation?

Response: Any aspect of a product can differentiate it in a consumer's mind. Therefore, a producer or manufacturer should consider opportunities for differentiation in all of its production areas: marketing, product management, engineering, sales, and customer support.


Response: Day trading refers to buying, then selling or selling short, then buying, the same security on the same day. Just purchasing a security, without selling it later that same day, would not be considered a day trade.


Response: Price targets try to predict what a given security will be worth at some point in the future. Analysts attempt to satisfy this basic question by projecting a security's future price using a blend of fundamental data points and educated assumptions about the security's future valuation.


Do Mutual Life Insurance Companies Issue Participating Policies?

Response: Yes, mutual life insurers are limited to offering only participating policies by most U.S. states. Their dividends are paid to policyholders regularly as refunds.


Response: A bank account or CD can be set up as a POD account by completing forms that designate the beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the death of the account owner. This is a simple process that can be accomplished online by completing the beneficiary section that includes the full name, address, and Social Security number of the beneficiary.


What Are the Different Types of Profit Margins?

Response: There are four ways of looking at a company's profit margin: gross profit margin, operating profit margin, pretax profit margin, and net profit margin.


What Is the Difference Between Gross Profit and Net Profit?

Response: Gross profit measures a company's total sales revenue minus the total cost of goods sold (or services performed). Net profit margin also subtracts other expenses, including overhead, debt repayment, and taxes. Net profit is considered a company's bottom line.


When Would a Company Use the Payback Period for Capital Budgeting?

Response: The payback period is favored when a company is under liquidity constraints because it can show how long it should take to recover the money laid out for the project. If short-term cash flows are a concern, a short payback period may be more attractive than a longer-term investment that has a higher NPV.


Response: The yuan has been pegged to a basket of international currencies, which includes the U.S. dollar, since 2005. This allows the country's central bank to maintain full control of the currency by setting a daily rate of parity against the greenback. Any changes to the rate are restricted, meaning they can only fall within 2% of that mark.The yuan was pegged solely to the U.S. dollar before this. In 1994, the peg was set at 8.28 yuan to a single U.S. dollar. Its major trading partners put pressure on China's leaders to allow it to appreciate against the dollar in 2005.


Response: Penny stocks are traded on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) or the OTC Markets Group. They are also available to trade through a brokerage account, such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab.


Why Does Ongoing Debate About the Relevance of the Phillips Curve Matter?

Response: Disagreements over the dependability of the Phillips curve can result in different economic policies. For instance, a policymaker who believes that lower unemployment is linked to higher inflation may seek to implement measures to keep inflation down, such as raising interest rates. Another policymaker might not agree with such a response.


Response: There have been periods when unemployment rates have declined even as inflation remained low, suggesting a "flattening" of the Phillips curve. In part, this can be attributed to concerted efforts by the Federal Reserve to keep inflation low and stable, which may have weakened the relationship between inflation and labor market performance.


Response: A bond is essentially a written promise that the amount loaned to the issuer will be repaid. The par value is the amount of money that the issuer promises to repay bondholders at the maturity date of the bond. The par value also determines the dollar value of coupon payments.


Response: Par value is the stock's value stated in the corporate charter. Shares usually have no par value or low par value, such as one cent per share does not reflect a stock's market price. Some states require that companies set a par value below which shares cannot be sold.


Response: Analyzing a profit portfolio is de rigueur for the successful operation of a company. Knowing which products are making the most money, which have low profits but growth potential, and which are underperforming is crucial to economic success.


How Does Quantitative Easing Increase Bank Lending?

Response: QE replaces bonds in the banking system with cash, effectively increasing the money supply, and making it easier for banks to free up capital, so they can underwrite more loans and buy other assets.


Response: To calculate the quantity discount, divide the total cost by the number of items at each quantity level to determine the per-unit cost. For example, if you are getting 100 items for $300, the per-unit cost is $3 (300/100). If you are getting 200 items for $400, the per-unit cost is $2 (400/200). You can then compare these per-unit costs to the cost of buying the unit individually without a quantity discount.


Can Quarterly Revenue Growth Be Negative?

Response: Yes, if a company generates less revenues quarter-over-quarter, it will be recorded as negative growth. This doesn't necessarily mean that the company is losing money, just that it's subsequent quarter saw fewer sales than the prior one.


Response: The purpose of a QDRO, which is typically used in divorce agreements, is to fairly divide assets in a qualified retirement plan. In addition to an ex-spouse, a QDRO can also recognize a child, or other dependent, as entitled to receive some of the retirement account’s assets.


What is the purpose of a quid pro quo contribution?

Response: Offering something of value in return for a donation is a way for a charitable organization to prompt donations that otherwise might not be forthcoming.


Is a quid pro quo contribution tax deductible?

Response: Yes, but it does have tax implications. A regular contribution to a qualified charitable organization can be deducted in full by taxpayers who itemize their deductions. However, with a quid pro quo donation, the donor must deduct the fair market value of what they received from the charity from the full amount of their donation to arrive at the allowable tax deduction.


Response: Queuing theory is used to identify and correct points of congestion in a process. The queue may consist of people, things, or information. In any case, they are being forced to wait for service. That is inefficient, bad for business, and annoying (when the queue consists of people). Queuing theory is used to analyze the existing process and map out alternatives with a better result.


Response: A fiscal calendar is an arbitrary range of dates that defines a company's annual reporting cycle. Instead of simply using a standard calendar year that runs from January to December, a company can decide to use a different calendar cycle for reporting that better aligns with its operations, cyclicality, or seasonality.For example, a company may elect to have a fiscal year ending in June. Although the calendar year runs from January to December, the company's year-end income statement will run from July 1 to June 30.


Response: Quality of life can be calculated in many ways. One is from the World Health Organization:  "WHO defines Quality of Life as an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns."


Are Qualified Adoption Expenses Different for Special Needs Children?

Response: Taxpayers who adopt a special needs child are usually eligible for the maximum amount of the credit in the year the adoption is finalized. This maximum amount is still reduced by qualified adoption expenses claimed in prior years and is still subject to MAGI limitations.


Response: An AGU agreement is an automatic give-up agreement. A give-up agreement allows one broker to execute trades for another broker. The "give-up" relates to the executing broker giving up credit on the trade on the record books. An AGU automatically locks in a transaction in the system.


Response: A QLAC requires only the investment from your IRA or qualified retirement account, paid in a lump sum to an insurance company or provider. There are no fees associated with the purchase.


Response: A quid pro quo is only illegal if it breaks the law, as in the case of a bribe, blackmail, or some sort of contingency (for example, requesting something non-work related in return for not firing an employee). Even if an instance of a quid pro quo is deemed legal, however, it may still be viewed unfavorably.


Response: A quota for people refers to the limit, either minimum or maximum, on the number of people who are allowed to be included or excluded from something.


Response: The quick ratio communicates how well a company will be able to pay its short-term debts using only the most liquid of assets. The ratio is important because it signals to internal management and external investors whether the company will run out of cash. The quick ratio also holds more value than other liquidity ratios such as the current ratio because it has the most conservative approach on reflecting how a company can raise cash.


How Does a Reverse ICO Differ from a Regular ICO?

Response: A reverse ICO and an ICO are essentially quite similar. Both involve the launch and sale of a new cryptocurrency token. The company launching the token is what distinguishes these two events: A company launching an ICO is typically just starting out, while one putting on a reverse ICO is usually well-established and looking for additional funds or a new business line.


How Does Implied Volatility Impact Risk Reversals?

Response: When implied volatility is high, option prices tend to be more expensive, impacting the overall cost and potential returns of a risk reversal strategy.


Response: The rate of return disregards some key factors in an investment, like the time value of money, the timing and size of cash flows, and the risk and uncertainty associated with any investment.


How Is Return on Capital Employed Calculated?

Response: Return on capital employed is calculated by dividing net operating profit, or earnings before interest and taxes, by capital employed. Another way to calculate it is by dividing earnings before interest and taxes by the difference between total assets and current liabilities.


Response: While there is no industry standard, a higher return on capital employed suggests a more efficient company, at least in terms of capital employment. However, a lower number may also be indicative of a company with a lot of cash on hand since cash is included in total assets. As a result, high levels of cash can sometimes skew this metric.


What Is a Good Percentage for Return on Capital Employed?

Response: The general rule about ROCE is the higher the ratio, the better. That's because it is a measure of profitability. A ROCE of at least 20% is usually a good sign that the company is in a good financial position. But keep in mind that you shouldn't compare the ROCE ratios of companies in different industries. As with any financial metric, it's best to do an apples-to-apples comparison.


Response: The risk premium can be calculated by subtracting the expected return of a risk-free investment from the expected return of an investment with risk. What you are left with is the compensation for the risk you’re taking on.


Response: To become a real estate agent, you need to complete some steps, though these vary by jurisdiction. Here's what's typical: you are above a certain age, a legal resident of where you plan to practice, have completed the necessary pre-license education, passed your state's real estate exam, have activated your license, and finally, have joined a real estate brokerage.


What Are the Three Types of U.S. Resident Aliens?

Response: According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there are three categories of resident alien. A permanent resident, also known as a green card holder, is someone who has been given the lawful and legal right by the government to live in the United States. A conditional resident is a person who receives a two-year green card, which is usually given to people who have applied for residency based on marriage or due to large financial investments. Returning resident is any lawful permanent resident who has been outside the U.S. and is returning to the country. A subset of this is a "special immigrant" who must apply for readmission if they have been outside the U.S. for more than 180 days.


What Does Remuneration Mean According to the IRS?

Response: Remuneration is the total amount paid to an employee. It may include a salary or hourly rate, bonuses, commissions, or any other payment. According to the IRS, remuneration is the total of earnings and other taxable benefits and allowances.


How Does a Reverse Repurchase Agreement Work?

Response: In a reverse repurchase agreement (RRP, or reverse repo), a party sells securities to a counterparty with the stipulation that it will buy them back at a slightly higher price. The agreement functions much like a collateralized loan. The original seller (engaging in a reverse repurchase agreement) receives an infusion of cash, while the original buyer (engaging in a repurchase [repo] agreement) essentially provides a loan and earns interest from the higher resale price. In general, the assets that serve as collateral for the transaction do not physically change hands.


Response: The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. The essential tenet of the Kyoto Protocol is that industrialized nations needed to lessen the amount of their CO2 emissions. The protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, when greenhouse gases were rapidly threatening our climate, life on the earth, and the planet itself.


Response: A bachelor's degree is required, preferably with a concentration in mathematics, statistics, or economics.


Response: These professionals earned an average annual salary of $56,780 per year in 2021. This is a job in public service, so substantial salary differences can be expected depending on the town, city, or state that is doing the hiring.


What Is the Difference Between Return on Assets (ROA) and ROE?

Response: Return on assets (ROA) and ROE are similar in that they are both trying to gauge how efficiently the company generates its profits. However, whereas ROE compares net income to the net assets of the company, ROA compares net income to the company’s assets alone, without deducting its liabilities. In both cases, companies in industries in which operations require significant assets will likely show a lower average return.


What Is the Difference Between the Internal Rate of Return and the Required Rate of Return?

Response: The internal rate of return looks at the investment's annual growth rate, stating that an investment should be pursued if this rate is greater than the minimum required rate of return.


Response: In December 2022, the SEC adopted amendments to the rule that increase disclosure requirements and add conditions to the use of the affirmative defense to insider trading liability, including a cooling-off period before trading can begin.