Social security is a program run by the U.S. government that provides workers and their dependents with money for retirement and injuries that prevent regular employment. Everyone with a legal job pays a Social Security tax, which represents a small percentage of their salary. The idea is that you pay into this huge fund throughout your career, and then when you retire you have the right to receive regular payments from this fund to help cover the cost of living without a job.
Archive for the ‘Daily Definition’ Category
A Currency Market is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A currency market is also known as a foreign exchange or FX market. It deals with the buying and selling of international currencies such as U.S. Dollars, Great British Pounds, Japanese Yen, etc.
Real Income is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Real income is how much an individual, organization, or country can actually purchase or do with its earnings after taking inflation into account; that is, its purchasing power. In an environment where prices are increasing, even if you made the same amount of money, say $100, this year as you did last year, your real income was greater last year because you could buy more with that $100 last year than you can this year.
The Tech Bubble was…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009The tech bubble (also known as the internet or dot-com bubble) was the period between 1998 and 2001 during which stock markets in western countries saw their values rise rapidly in the technology sectors. During this time, a good number of tech. companies were founded, went public, and saw their stocks soar.
A Hedge Fund is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A hedge fund is a limited partnership of investors that uses high-risk methods, such as investing with borrowed money, in the hope of realizing large gains. Similar to a mutual fund, a hedge fund pools investors’ money together in order to increase the possibility of realizing serious earnings on their investments.
Over-The-Counter is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Over-the-counter is a term used to describe the trading of financial instruments that does not happen through an exchange mechanism (such as the stock market). Instead, these instruments are traded directly among dealers, either on the phone or electronically.
Controlling Interest is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Controlling interest refers to the possession of over 50% of the voting shares of a particular company. Having control of a company is basically like getting the majority vote.
A Hold is…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009A hold is the action of maintaining ownership of a security over a long period of time. The word “hold” can also refer to a financial analyst’s recommendation to neither buy nor sell a stock or financial instrument based on research and reasoning. A securities analyst’s recommendation to hold appears to take a middle ground between encouraging investors to buy and suggesting that they sell.
Yield is…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Yield is the rate of return on an investment, usually expressed as a percentage. It is the amount of money returned to investors on their investments.
A Stock Market is…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009A stock market is a public market for trading (buying and selling) stocks. The NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and Nasdaq are the largest stock markets in the United States.