Billing Statements are primarily used by credit card companies, listing the transaction history and balance due on a customer account. A billing statement is mailed, physically or electronically, to a customer at the end of a billing cycle, which is usually monthly. The statement will show the balance due and the transaction history, perhaps including recent payments received from the customer. The term “billing statement” is sort of a blend between two distinct documents: a bill and a statement. Continue reading...
A billing cycle is the frequency with which a company creates and sends invoices for the goods or services rendered during a time period. A billing cycle is usually a month long, and may begin at the first day of the month and end on the last day. This varies depending on the structure of the business and the systems they have in place to regulate their cash cycle. A bill or invoice will be sent out to customers or debtors from whom the business can expect payment for goods or services rendered during a specific time period. Continue reading...
Collections companies are known as Bill Collectors, and their jobs are to extract as much payment from those who are past-due on payment obligations as they can to settle an account or to bring it current. When people do not pay their credit card companies back within about 150 days, the card company will pass the debt off to a collections company. Other businesses who do their own billing will also sometimes find it necessary to pass off the obligation to the collections company. Continue reading...
Cash and cash equivalents are negotiable instruments which have a stable value and are highly liquid. Cash and Cash Equivalents is a phrase used often in the financial world. Generally money market accounts are the most used cash equivalent. They are invested in currency, and their goal is to preserve the value of the the investor’s dollars. Money market accounts are basically completely liquid, and investors can even write checks and make ATM withdrawals from their money market accounts. Continue reading...
A market-with-protection order starts out as a regular market order to buy or sell at the market price. This kind of order will cancel the remainder of the order if the price moves before the entire order is filled, and it is immediately re-entered as a limit order with a price just above or below the market price. A market-with-protection order allows investors to hedge against the change that prices will move unexpectedly before their entire order is filled at the desired price. So an investor would submit an order to be executed at the current market price, and then, if the price moved, the order would automatically cancel the rest of the order and resubmit it as a limit order. Continue reading...
A Bill of Sale is essentially a trumped-up receipt, unless you are in England. A Bill of Sale is a document affirming that the rights of ownership of an asset have been transferred from one party to another, in exchange for “full consideration,” which is another word for compensation or payment. A receipt from a retail transaction can be considered a Bill of Sale, but a full-fledged bill of sale should accompany large transactions like car sales and so on. The British definition of Bill of Sale, however, is somewhat different. Continue reading...
A budget is a plan for expenses that seeks to keep them within the limitations of revenue inflows so that a business or organization does not operate at a deficit. The Federal Budget is much larger and more complicated that most budgets, but it works similarly. Because the use of funds is such an important issue on such a large scale, there are several steps needed to create and enact a budget. A Federal Budget is created every year. It originates with a proposed budget from the President. The two houses of Congress go through significant deliberation in committees and on the floor, working on the Appropriations Bills. They then reconcile their budgets between the two houses and send it to the President for approval. Continue reading...
Accounts Payable is part of the Current Liabilities section of a company’s books. Accounts Payable are the short-term expenses and debts that a company must pay out in the near future. These might include utility bills and regular expenses, debt service, and bills to regular suppliers and vendors. The amounts that appear in the Payables, as they are also called, have not been paid out yet, but are scheduled to be paid within the current quarter, generally. Continue reading...
Bull markets are defined as periods of sustained investor confidence and market growth, as prices trend higher and indexes rise over time. These stretches are typically tied to economic growth and strength. When investor sentiment is “bullish,” investors are generally willing to take more risk. These extended periods of growth typically last for months but can last for years. There are more technical definitions of a bull market, depending on which index, commodity, and other asset is being considered. As a general rule, however, bull markets tend to see stocks rise by 20% in response to a 20% decline, before eventually declining by 20% again to signal the end of the bull run. The longest bull run in S&P 500 history took place from March 2009 to March 2020, experiencing well over 300% growth over that time. Continue reading...
While online will templates may be useful for those with straightforward estate plans, they lack customization and legal guidance. To avoid the risk of creating a contested or unenforceable will, individuals should only use templates from trusted sources and consult an estate planning attorney for complex estate plans, significant assets, or unusual circumstances. Ultimately, a well-crafted will provides peace of mind and security for loved ones, and individuals should take the time to make informed decisions when creating a will. Continue reading...
Accounts Receivable is part of the Assets on a Balance Sheet, and it details the money due to the company from its customers or debtors in the near future. Accounts Receivable will include money which should be received by the company from those who owe it. This appears in the Current Assets section of the Balance Sheet. The money should be receivable within the next 30 or 90 days, generally. This might be rent payments or other bills which are paid regularly or after the goods or services have been rendered. An account receivable also might include interest due. Continue reading...
Central banks and sometimes other banks and large corporations, hold reserves in foreign currencies as a hedge against exchange rate risk and perhaps to satisfy the liquidity needs of positions they may have in Forex derivatives. Central banks and large institutions which engage in international trade and Forex transactions will find it prudent and sometimes necessary to hold substantial reserves in a foreign currency. Central banks frequently engage in various types of Forex transactions to balance their exposure to trends, risks, and other effects in the currency market. Continue reading...
If a central bank takes actions that intentionally and artificially affect the value of a currency, particularly its own, it is engaging in what is known as a Foreign Exchange Intervention, or an interventionist policy. Central banks occasionally use interventions in foreign exchange markets to achieve a desirable end. The banks will intentionally make trades and hold certain amounts of currencies or derivatives with the sole purpose of manipulating the value of their domestic currency. The reasons for that manipulation might be to slow down inflation or to make their county’s exports look more attractive by pushing the value of their currency lower. Continue reading...
NEEDS AN EXPLANATION? WHAT IS A WATCHLIST or WATCHLIST EXCHANGE To access from the menu bar, simply click on the marketplace and then select watchlist exchange marketplace. The unique feature about this watchlist module is that you have a lot of options you can choose from. The home watchlist is the most popular, allowing you to track everything happening on your home page. The watchlist comes with a tracking feature. Click on the Alert bell to set up alerts and notifications once there are changes according to the setup you made. You can create a watchlist from the different available modules on Tickeron. Click on the watchlist in the menu bar and select the watchlist type you want. Continue reading...
A Living Will is a document that dictates your wishes in the event you become incapable of making decisions, whether because of illness or injury. The directives in a living will are almost always related to person's desires regarding their medical treatment in those circumstances of incapacitation, in which they are no longer able to express informed consent. What is Probate? Should I Notarize my Will? Continue reading...
A ‘poison pill’ is a maneuver by a company to make itself less attractive to a hostile takeover. It can be used in an effort to avoid the takeover altogether, or at least to make the takeover more painful for the bidder. One type of poison pill is a “flip-in,” which allows shareholders to buy shares of the company being targeted at a discount, which makes the takeover more expensive and more difficult. Continue reading...
Foreign Exchange Risk is the possibility that exchange rates will move against you when you have pending payment on transactions in another currency or other investment positions in foreign currencies or foreign assets which will be affected by Forex fluctuations. Foreign Exchange Risk can also be called Forex risk, and it is the potential loss to an investor or institution when doing business in a foreign currency if the exchange rate swings unfavorably. Companies and countries take various measures to hedge against exchange rate risk, including holding reserves of other currencies and buying derivative contracts on various currency pairs. Continue reading...
Currency exchange rates will fluctuate with various macroeconomic factors such as inflation, interest rates, trade balance, and so on, as well as political climate. Currency exchange rates are influenced by a number of factors, with some experts listing 5, some experts listing as many as 10. The main variables that will affect exchange rates are inflation rates, interest rates, the trade balance / current account, speculation in Forex markets, and government policies and interventions. Continue reading...
For comparisons of the risk/return ratio of an investment, one must start with a benchmark of a risk-free rate of return in the current market. Since U.S. Treasury bills are backed by the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the U.S. Government, they are considered “riskless,” or as close to riskless as we can get. The current yield on a 10-year Treasury note is generally considered the risk-free rate of return. Continue reading...
The Symmetrical Triangle Bottom pattern forms when the price of a security fails to retest a high or a low and ultimately forms two narrowing trend lines. As the support and resistance levels consolidate, it forms a triangle (15). Symmetrical Triangles are characterized by the upper line sloping downward and lower line sloping upward. The price movement inside the triangle should fill the shape with some uniformity, without leaving large blank areas. Continue reading...