What is a Matching Contribution?
Employers can contribute to an employee’s 401(k) on a matching basis. Some employers will make additional contributions to your 401(k) based on the amount of your own contributions. Matching can be done on a dollar-for-dollar basis, meaning that for every dollar you contribute to your account, they will add a dollar as well. It can also be done using a factor, such as ½, meaning they will contribute a dollar every time you contribute two. Continue reading...
What are Earnings Estimates?
Earnings estimates are generally consolidated estimates which are averages of the estimates given by a number of market analysts. Companies give their own guidance on earnings estimations, and they will have their feet held to the fire, so to speak, if they are consistently off with their guidance, but most people will, rightly, give more weight to the consolidated estimates of outside experts. Earnings estimates on a publicly traded company will come from an array of industry analysts, and are normally consolidated into a single average estimate or range. The range might or average will certainly affect the trading prices of the stock, but not as much as adjustments to estimates will. Continue reading...
What is the Difference Between Public and Permissioned Blockchains?
Blockchain technology does not always have to be implemented in a public peer-to-peer system. Blockchains rely on a network of computers, representing nodes, that collaborate and distribute the information required for the blockchain to function. The nodes in some blockchains can be established by any computer willing to run the client software for the network. Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies are intended to function this way: as a public, open-source, permission-less, and trust less network. The nodes are used indiscriminately by the rest of the network as long as the node is performing the functions required of nodes, and this is called a proof-of-work system. When Satoshi Nakamoto coded the first blockchain, his intention was to keep the network functioning with only one tier: “one CPU, one vote.” That vision has encountered obstacles in the form of ASIC mining and other unforeseen circumstances that have empowered some nodes and groups of users over others. Continue reading...
What is the Broadening Wedge Descending (Bullish) Pattern?
The Broadening Wedge Descending pattern forms when the price of a pair makes lower lows (1, 3, 5) and lower highs (2, 4), forming a downtrend. This pattern may form when large investors spread out their selling over a period of time. When the initial selling occurs, other market participants react to the falling price and jump on the bandwagon to participate. Then the value investors begin to buy, believing the price has fallen too much, which spurs the original large investor to resume buying again as well. Continue reading...
What is a Jumbo Loan?
A jumbo loan is a mortgage loan that exceeds the conforming loan limits set by the Office of Federal Enterprise Housing Oversight. For borrowers with low debt to income ratios and good credit scores, jumbo loans are often utilized for purchases of larger or luxury homes. Often times jumbo loans are too large in size to be guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and are securitized in other ways. Continue reading...
What is Credit Counseling?
Credit counselors can negotiate debt management strategies with lenders on behalf of individuals with debt problems, as well as providing behavioral financial habit construction counseling. Debtors seek out credit counselors to find out what their options are to get out of debt and to get some coaching during the process. Credit counselors can be certified through several accredited institutions who are overseen by the Department of Justice in the United States, and they may be part of a non-profit organization, lending institution, or independent financial practice. Continue reading...
What is a foreign tax credit?
A foreign tax credit (or deduction) allows a citizen who earned income in another country to reduce the amount of domestic income taxes owed if the foreign government has already taxed the income abroad. Workers who earn income in a foreign country may be entitled to a credit or deduction on their domestic income taxes if they show that this income was already taxed by the foreign government where the income was earned. In the US, there are at least three types of foreign income tax exemptions, with a foreign tax credit being one of them. Continue reading...
What is a Margin Account?
A margin account is one in which an investor uses borrowed money to purchase additional securities. An investor is almost always required to use the securities in the account as collateral for the borrowed money. The objective of a margin account is for the investor to magnify gains, but the opposite can also be true, and losses may lead the investor to have to sell securities in the account to cover the loan balance. There’s more upside in a margin account, but there’s more downside too. Continue reading...
What are Telecom Stocks?
Telecom is short for telecommunication, and it includes companies involved in the ever-important business of communication. These companies created the infrastructure that allows data to be sent anywhere in the world, which now includes wireless operators, satellite companies, cable companies and Internet service providers. Companies in the wireless business are perhaps the most relevant and competitive today. Continue reading...
Is there any merit to the “Elliot market waves theory?”
The Elliot Wave theory essentially uncovers larger trends and investor sentiment by smoothing and “zooming out” from market price action. Elliot Waves zoom out on market price action by using larger-interval moving average and smoothing out price information to reveal larger trends. He was one of the first to attempt such a theory, and his foundations may have contributed to the use of Fourier Analysis and Fibonacci Sequences in market analysis. Continue reading...