A government program created for the establishment and management of a Treasury fund, in an attempt to curb the ongoing financial crisis of 2007-2008. The TARP gives the U.S. Treasury purchasing power of $700 billion to buy up mortgage backed securities (MBS) from institutions across the country, in an attempt to create liquidity and un-seize the money markets. The fund was created by a bill that was made law on October 3, 2008 with the passage of H.R. 1424 enacting the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The Treasury will be given $250 billion immediately, and the President must certify additional funds as they are needed. The additional funds will be distributed as $100 billion, and then as the final $350 billion is given, Congress has the right to not approve the additional amounts. |||Global credit markets came to a near stand still in September 2008, as several major financial institutions, such as Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and American International Group, went under. In a few surprising moves, heavyweights Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley even changed their charter to become commercial banks, in an attempt to stabilize their capital situation. The bailout will attempt to increase the liquidity of the secondary mortgage markets by purchasing the illiquid MBS, and through that, reducing the potential losses that could be felt by the institutions who currently own them. In October of 2008, revisions to the program were announced by Treasury Secretary Paulson and President Bush; allowing for the first $250 billion to be used to buy equity stakes in nine major U.S. banks, and many smaller banks. This program demands that companies involved lose some tax benefits, and in many cases incur limits on executive compensation.
Select groups of capital which are monitored with regards to their international movement. Treasury international capital is used as an economic indicator that tracks the flow of Treasury and agency securities, as well as corporate bonds and equities, into and out of the United States. TIC data is important to investors, especially with the increasing amount of foreign participation in the U.S. financial markets. |||As demand for U.S. financial instruments increases, the value of the dollar is held up. This is because demand for U.S. dollars increases as they are needed to purchase U.S. securities. Strong demand also places downward pressure on interest rates. Because this data can have a direct effect on interest rates and the value of the dollar, and because foreign ownership of U.S. debt is more prevalent than foreign ownership of U.S. equities, this data seems to have a larger effect on the bond markets than on the stock markets.
A way of designating beneficiaries to receive your assets at the time of your death without having to go through probate. This designation also allows you to specify the percentage of assets each person or entity (your "TOD beneficiary") will receive. Your assets will then be automatically transferred to the designated beneficiaries upon your death. |||Transfer-on-death is a means of transferring assets without the hassle, delay and cost of probate. If you set up your account or have your securities registered this way, the executor or administrator of your estate won't have to take any action to ensure that your securities transfer to the beneficiaries you have designated.With TOD registration, you maintain complete control of your assets during your lifetime. Your named beneficiaries have no access to or control over your assets as long as you are alive.
The timeframe of the past twelve months (the past year) used for reporting financial figures. |||For example, the price/earnings ratio is often quoted as P/E (ttm), meaning they're using the EPS from the past twelve months.
A technical indicator that measures the amount of money flowing in and out of an asset. Unlike many technical indicators, the TVI is generally created using intraday price data. The underlying assumption of this indicator is that there is buying pressure when the price trades near the asking price and selling pressure when it trades near the bid. |||This indicator is very similar to the on-balance volume indicator except that it focuses on the volume attributed to every trade rather than the closing volume that is attributable to all trades. This indicator is primarily used by day traders to identify whether a security is being accumulated (bought) or distributed (sold).
An indicator developed by Peter G. Martin and Byron B. McCann that is used to measure the riskiness of investments such as securities, commodities, indexes or mutual funds. It is created by factoring in the depth and duration of drawdowns from recent peaks. A large UI value indicates that the security represents undue risk and an investor who holds it will likely need to wait longer for the investment's price to climb back to its recent highs. |||This tool is often used in conjunction with other risk measurements such as standard deviation. Investors who are risk averse should probably stay away from securities with high UI values because, if these securities experience a severe decline, they are unlikely to recover in the near future. Since the ulcer index measures change from a recent peak, it is more practical to think of it as a short-term risk measure.
A federal law enacted in 1968 with the intention of protecting consumers in their dealings with lenders and creditors. The Truth in Lending Act was implemented by the Federal Reserve through a series of regulations. The most important aspects of the act concern the pieces of information that must be disclosed to a borrower prior to extending credit: annual percentage rate (APR), term of the loan and total costs to the borrower. This information must be conspicuous on documents presented to the consumer before signing, and also possibly on periodic billing statements. |||TILA applies to most types of credit, whether it be closed-end credit (such as an auto loan or mortgage), or open-ended credit (such as a credit card). The act regulates what companies can advertise and say about the benefits of their loans or services. For example, borrowers considering an adjustable-rate mortgage must be offered specific reading materials from the Federal Reserve Board to ensure they understand the parameters of an ARM. Different states and industries have their own variations of TILA, but the chief feature remains the proper disclosure of key information to protect both the consumer and the lender in credit transactions.
Life insurance that resides inside a trust. Trust-owned life insurance is used by many high net worth individuals as the cornerstone of their estate plan. It enables the trust to provide for survivors, cover estate tax liability planning, balance inheritances among heirs and meet charitable objectives. Watch: Life Insurance |||Life insurance is viewed as a long-term asset that will not be used for its true purpose, ideally, for decades. Consequently it is often overlooked when monitoring and managing the overall trust. However, it is important that the trust-owned insurance policies be reviewed regularly. The existing policy might not meet the current needs of the trust, and newer insurance products might be more cost efficient and offer better options and features.