An act of Congress enacted in 1977 with the intention of encouraging depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of surrounding communities (particularly low and moderate income neighborhoods). The CRA requires federal regulators to assess the record of each bank or thrift in helping to fulfill its obligations to the community. This record will then be used in evaluating applications for future approval of bank mergers, charters, acquisitions, branch openings and deposit facilities. |||Because the percentage of "CRA loans" that a mortgage lender originates or purchases in the secondary market is important, CRA loans tend to trade at a premium price in the secondary market. Generic packages of loans are frequently searched by traders looking to find overlooked individual CRA loans within the package which can be extracted and sold for a premium, independent of the entire package .
A private sector financial institution that focuses on personal lending and business development efforts in local communities. CDFIs can receive federal funding through the U.S. Department of the Treasury by completing an application. They can also receive funding from private sector sources such as individuals, corporations and religious institutions. |||CDFIs focus on serving the needs of the poor and working class within urban and poor rural communities, as many of these citizens are underserved or ignored by traditional commercial banks and lending processes. The goal is to help these people to become financially self-sufficient, allowing them to increase their contributions to national economic growth and to rebuild run-down communities. There are hundreds of chartered CDFIs operating in the United States, each with the goal of fostering economic growth within the local community through innovative (and often less stringent) lending practices, educational efforts and small business lending. CDFIs can be considered a form of microfinance. They measure their progress not only by dollars earned but also by how the community is growing economically. There are several different structures a CDFI can take, including community development banks, community development loan funds, microenterprise funds and venture funds. CDFIs tend to be controlled locally, without interference from the federal government or national corporate hierarchy.
A technical momentum indicator that attempts to identify which commodities are the most suitable for short-term trading. The larger the CSI value, the stronger is the trend and volatility characteristics associated with the asset. This indicator should only be used by traders who can handle large amounts of volatility as it indicates strong trending, but reversals are always possible. |||Short-term traders know that the key to making money is movement, which is the reason that they mainly focus on the highly volatile assets. This index attempts to lessen the amount of risk taken, and make it easier to trade by incorporating trend characteristics. Some traders will only trade the commodity with the highest CSI value, while others will make transaction signals when they see a sharp increase in this value.
An index that measures the overall direction of commodity sectors. The CRB was designed to isolate and reveal the directional movement of prices in overall commodity trades. |||Generally commodity prices move opposite to bond prices. This is because inflation causes commodities to increase in price while devaluating the price of bonds. This is one of the reasons that the CRB is so closely watched by both bond and commodity traders.
A type of good that is consumed every day by the average consumer. The goods that comprise this category are ones that need to be replaced frequently, compared to those that are usable for extended periods of time. While CPGs represent a market that will always have consumers, it is highly competitive due to high market saturation and low consumer switching costs. |||The consumer packaged goods industry is one of the largest in North America, valued at approximately US$2 trillion. Although growth has slowed in this industry, companies that provide CPGs still benefit from large margins and strong balance sheets. Some basic examples of CPGs are food and beverages, clothing, tobacco and household products.
A regulatory agency charged with overseeing financial products and services that are offered to consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is divided into several units, including: research, community affairs, consumer complaints, the Office of Fair Lending and the Office of Financial Opportunity. These units work together to protect and educate consumers about the various types of financial products and services that are available. |||The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created by the Dodd-Wall Street Reform and Protection Consumer Act of 2010. The CFPB is headed by a chief who is appointed by the President for a five-year term. The bureau is also assisted by a Consumer Advisory Council, composed of at least six members who are recommended by regional Federal Reserve presidents.
A trade term requiring the seller to arrange for the carriage of goods by sea to a port of destination, and provide the buyer with the documents necessary to obtain the goods from the carrier. Under CFR, the seller does not have to procure marine insurance against the risk of loss or damage to the goods during transit. |||Contracts involving international transportation often contain abbreviated trade terms that describe matters such as the time and place of delivery, payment when the risk of loss shifts from the seller to the buyer, and who pays the costs of freight and insurance. The most commonly known trade terms are Incoterms, which are published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). These are often identical in form to domestic terms (such as the American Uniform Commercial Code), but have different meanings. As a result, parties to a contract must expressly indicate the governing law of their terms. It's important to realize that because this is a legal term, its exact definition is much more complicated and differs by country. It is suggested that you contact an international trade lawyer before using any trade term.
A corporate entity that is registered and conducts business in a different jurisdiction or country than the residency of the controlling owners. Control of the foreign company is defined, in the U.S., according to the percentage of shares owned by U.S. citizens. Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) laws work alongside tax treaties to dictate how taxpayers declare their foreign earnings. A CFC is advantageous for companies when the cost of setting up a business, foreign branches or partnerships in a foreign country is lower even after the tax implications, or when the global exposure could help the business grow. |||The CFC structure was created to help prevent tax evasion, which was done by setting up offshore companies in jurisdictions with little or no tax. Each country has its own CFC laws, but most are similar in that they tend to target individuals over multinational corporations when it comes to how they are taxed. For this reason, having a company qualify as independent will exempt it from CFC regulations.Countries differ in how they define the independence of a company. The determination can be based on how many individuals have a controlling interest in the company, as well as the percentage they control. For example, minimums can range from fewer than 10 to over 100 people, or 50% of voting shares, or 10% of the total outstanding shares.