The benchmark stock index for the Austrailian markets. It was created for the sake of investment managers who held Australian securities and needed a sufficiently large and liquid portfolio with which they could compare their investment performance. The index trades on the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol XJO. |||The S&P/ASX 200 Index is composed of the S&P ASX 100 Index plus another 100 stocks. ASX mini futures 200 contracts are also based on this index. There is also an ETF that owns and tracks this index, along with futures contracts that trade with the index as their basis.
The regulatory body for the investment market in India. The purpose of this board is to maintain stable and efficient markets by creating and enforcing regulations in the marketplace. |||The Securities and Exchange Board of India is similar to the U.S. SEC. The SEBI is relatively new (1992) but is a vital component in improving the quality of the financial markets in India, both by attracting foreign investors and protecting Indian investors.
A form of protocol for electronic credit card payments. As the name implies, the secure electronic transaction (SET) protocol is used to facilitate the secure transmission of consumer credit card information via electronic avenues, such as the Internet. SET blocks out the details of credit card information, thus preventing merchants, hackers and electronic thieves from accessing this information. |||Secure electronic transactions are backed by most of the major providers of electronic transactions, such as Visa and MasterCard. SET allows merchants to verify their customers' card information without actually seeing it, thus protecting the customer. The information on the card is instead transferred directly to the credit card company for verification.
A rate adjustment used for economic or business data that attempts to remove the seasonal variations in the data. Most data will be affected by the time of the year. Adjusting for the seasonality in data means more accurate relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. |||The SAAR is calculated by dividing the unadjusted annual rate for the month by its seasonality factor and creating an adjusted annual rate for the month. These adjustments are more often used when economic data is released to the public. The ice cream industry tends to have a large level of seasonality as it will sell more ice cream in the summer than in the winter. By using seasonally adjusted sale rates, the sales in the summer can be accurately compared to the sales in the winter.
A retirement plan that may be established by employers, including self-employed individuals. The employer is allowed a tax deduction for contributions made to the SIMPLE. The employer makes either matching or non-elective contributions to each eligible employee's SIMPLE IRA and employees may make salary deferral contributions. |||The employer has two alternatives when it comes to making contributions. The first is to match the amounts that each employee makes toward his or her own elective-deferral contribution up to 3% of the employee's annual compensation. The second alternative is for the employer to make a flat 2% nonelective contribution to all qualified employees, regardless of whether the employee makes any contributions.Contributions to SIMPLE IRAs are immediately 100% vested, and the IRA owner directs the investments.
An act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandated strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud. SOX was enacted in response to the accounting scandals in the early 2000s. Scandals such as Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom shook investor confidence in financial statements and required an overhaul of regulatory standards. |||The rules and enforcement policies outlined by the SOX Act amend or supplement existing legislation dealing with security regulations. The two key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are: 1. Section 302: A mandate that requires senior management to certify the accuracy of the reported financial statement 2. Section 404: A requirement that management and auditors establish internal controls and reporting methods on the adequacy of those controls. Section 404 had very costly implications for publicly traded companies as it is expensive to establish and maintain the required internal controls.
The management and coordination of a product's supply chain for the purpose of increasing efficiency and profitability. |||Typically, SCM will attempt to centrally control or link the production, shipment and distribution of a product. By managing the supply chain, companies are able to cut excess fat and provide products faster. This is done by keeping tighter control of internal inventories, internal production, distribution, sales and the inventories of the company's product purchasers.
A federal program that provides additional income for older and disabled people with little to no income stream. This program helps the participants meet their basic needs by providing them with monthly cash distributions. The program is funded by tax revenues received by the government. |||This type of program is a type of safety net for citizens of the U.S. who cannot meet their basic financial needs because of their age or a disability. Payments for the program are made on the first day of the month and can also include food stamps and Medicaid benefits.