The currency abbreviation for the Macanese pataca, the currency for Macau. The Macanese pataca is made up of 100 avo or 10 ho, and is often presented with the symbol MOP$ (ex. MOP$100). The Macanese pataca is 100% backed by the foreign exchange reserves of the Hong Kong dollar (HKD). |||The Macanese pataca was first introduced in 1894 and was equivalent to the Mexican peso, Spanish dollar and the Hong Kong dollar - which were all equivalent at that time, replacing the Portuguese real at a rate of 450:1. The pataca was initially pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at par, but from 1935 until 1976, it was pegged to the Portuguese escudo. The peg returned to the Hong Kong dollar in 1977.
An accounting practice in which a company uses generous reserves from good years against losses that might be incurred in bad years. cookie jar accounting is a sign of misleading accounting practices. Watch: Cooking The Books This gives the sense of "income smoothing", because earnings are understated in good years and overstated in bad years. You may have heard of companies taking special charges or write-downs - that's just another flavor of cookie jar accounting.
An academic study conducted by researchers from Yale in 2006. The active-share study examined the proportion of stock holdings in a mutual fund's composition that was different from the composition found in its benchmark. The greater the difference between the asset composition of the fund and its benchmark, the greater the active share. According to the active-share study, there was a positive correlation between a fund's active-share value and the fund's performance against its benchmark. For example, a mutual fund with an active-share percentage of 75% indicates that 75% of its assets differed from its index, while the remaining 25% mirrored the index.The study found that funds with a higher active-share value would tend to be more consistent in generating high returns against their benchmark indexes, which implies that more actively managed funds have more skilled managers.
A combination of a short position in an asset such as a stock or commodity, and a long position in the futures for that asset. Reverse cash-and-carry arbitrage seeks to exploit pricing inefficiencies for the same asset in the cash (or spot) and futures markets in order to make riskless profits. The arbitrageur or trader accepts delivery of the asset against the futures contract, which is used to cover the short position. This strategy is only viable if the futures price is cheap in relation to the spot price of the asset. That is, the proceeds from the short sale should exceed the price of the futures contract and the costs associated with carrying the short position in the asset. This strategy is only viable if the futures price is cheap in relation to the spot price of the asset. That is, the proceeds from the short sale should exceed the price of the futures contract and the costs associated with carrying the short position in the asset.Consider the following example of reverse cash-and-carry-arbitrage. Assume an asset currently trades at $104, while the one-month futures contract is priced at $100. In addition, monthly carrying costs on the short position (for example, dividends are payable by the short seller) amount to $2. In this case, the trader or arbitrageur would initiate a short position in the asset at $104, and simultaneously buy the one-month futures contract at $100. Upon maturity of the futures contract, the trader accepts delivery of the asset and uses it to cover the short position in the asset, thereby ensuring an arbitrage or riskless profit of $2.
A buzzword describing fraudulent activities performed by corporations in order to falsify their financial statements. Typically, cooking the books involves augmenting financial data to yield previously non-existent earnings. Examples of techniques used to cook the books involve accelerating revenues, delaying expenses, manipulating pension plans and implementing synthetic leases. Watch: Cooking The Books During the first couple of years of the new millennium, large Fortune 500 companies such as Enron and WorldCom were found to have been cooking the books to improve their financial figures. The resulting scandals gave investors and regulators a rude awakening concerning the reality that companies were hiding the ugly truth between the lines of financial data.In order to rally investor confidence, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was created. This act of Congress created policies to protect investors against future incidents of corporate fraud.
A unique account where untaxed gains are deposited within a private company. |||These untaxed gains are usually distributed to shareholders or owners without additional tax liability.
A rule created by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to protect individual investors from conflicts of interest that may arise when brokerage firms and mutual funds collaborate. The main violation the rule is designed to prevent is an arrangement between a brokerage firm and a mutual fund wherein the brokerage firm directs its clients to the mutual fund company (generating sales) and the mutual fund, in turn, sends its trades through the brokerage firm (generating commissions). Brokerage firms and mutual funds can be fined by FINRA (formerly the NASD) if there is proof that they have violated anti-reciprocal rules.
The likelihood that significant economic changes in one country will spread to other countries. Contagion can refer to the spread of either economic booms or economic crises throughout a geographic region. Contagion has become a more prominent phenomenon as the global economy has grown and economies within certain geographic regions have become more correlated with one another. An infamous example is the "Asian Contagion", which occurred in 1997 and started in Thailand. The economic crisis in Thailand spread to bordering Southeast Asian countries and then eventually spilled over to Latin America.