A series of events and processes that a company's management team facilitates in order to change and/or reorganize itself in an attempt to improve its current situation. Shakeups can occur when a business has undergone new ownership or has been performing poorly, and a shift in the company's team or overall strategy is a necessary catalyst for potential success. For example, Al Dunlap was brought to shake up Scott Paper in an attempt to make the paper company successful. Over the course of an 18-month process of restructuring and cost cutting, Dunlap transformed Scott Paper from a $2.9 billion company into $9.5 billion company.
A company asset that is vital to business operations but cannot be easily liquidated. The value of property, plant and equipment is typically depreciated over the estimated life of the asset, because even the longest-term assets become obsolete or useless after a period of time.Depending on the nature of a company's business, the total value of PP&E can range from very low to extremely high compared to total assets. International accounting standard 16 deals with the accounting treatment of PP&E. |||An example of a business with a high amounts of PP&E would be a shipping company, because most of its assets would be tied into its fleet of ships and administrative buildings. On the other hand, a management consulting firm would have less PP&E, because a consultant would only need a computer and an office in a building to run its operations.This item is listed separately in most financial statements because PP&E is treated differently in accounting statements. This is because improvements, replacements and betterments can pose accounting issues depending on how the costs are recorded.
A tariff imposed on Australian residents by their government on asset value gains from offshore holdings. The FIF tax was implemented in 1992 to prevent citizens from deferring the payment of Australian tax on investments made outside of the country. Investments that can fall within the definition of FIF funds include personal retirement funds, such as American IRAs and Canadian RRSPs, as well as life insurance wrappers, which are often sold by overseas advisors. The FIF tax is as controversial as it is complicated, with a variety of exceptions and loopholes. In its 2009 Federal Budget, the Australian government attempted to address these problems by announcing its intent to repeal and replace the foreign investment fund (FIF) provisions with a more specific rule.
Someone who gets paid by the brokerage company for which he works for each order of securities he executes on a customer's behalf. The commission structure can encourage unethical behavior by unscrupulous commission brokers. For example, a dishonest commission broker may engage in a practice called churning, which means executing multiple trades in a customer's account for the sole purpose of generating more commissions. The additional trades do not benefit the customer. Taobiz explains Commission Broker A broker who charges a flat fee for his or her services rather than earning a commission based on order size has more incentive to put the customer's best interest first. A flat-fee broker will not have an incentive to push a customer into certain securities because they are paying a high commission. Instead, he or she will have an incentive to get the customer into the best-performing investments so the customer will be loyal to that broker and be a steady source of business.
A situation in which many investors exit their positions, often at a loss, because of uncertainty or recent bad news circulating around a particular security or industry. During the dotcom boom and bust, numerous shakeouts occurred. During these shakeouts many investors experienced tremendous losses.
A document that demonstrates that a person has the ability and funds available to use for a transaction. It usually comes in the form of a bank, security or custody statement. The purpose of the document is to ensure that the funds required for the transaction are obtainable and legitimate. |||Some con artists who are planning a financial scam will request a proof of funds. They want to make sure that they are concentrating their efforts on someone with significant financial worth. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you only give proof of funds to trusted individuals whom you have thoroughly investigated.
An allowance for taxpayers who live and work in a foreign country to exclude any amount that their employer allocates to them to cover housing costs. The exclusion applies regardless of whether the expenses are paid directly to the taxpayer or on his or her behalf. This exclusion applies for expenses related to housing, rent, repairs, utilities and several other types of expenses. In order to qualify for this exclusion, taxpayers must meet the same time criteria as for the bona fide resident or physical-presence tests. Qualifying expenses may also include payments intended to equalize taxes and education expenses for the taxpayer's children or dependents. Costs relating to the purchase of property or the employ of domestic servants do not qualify for the exclusion.
1. A protective options strategy that is implemented after a long position in a stock has experienced substantial gains. It is created by purchasing an out of the money put option while simultaneously writing an out of the money call option. Also known as "hedge wrapper". 2. A general restriction on market activities. Taobiz explains Collar 1. The purchase of an out-of-the money put option is what protects the underlying shares from a large downward move and locks in the profit. The price paid to buy the puts is lowered by amount of premium that is collect by selling the out of the money call. The ultimate goal of this position is that the underlying stock continues to rise until the written strike is reached. 2. An example is a circuit breaker which is meant to prevent extreme losses (or gains) once an index reaches a certain level. Collars can protect you against massive losses, but they also prevent massive gains.