An income fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that emphasizes current income, either on a monthly or quarterly basis, as opposed to capital gains or appreciation. Such funds usually hold a variety of government, municipal, and corporate debt obligations, preferred stock, money market instruments, and dividend-paying stocks.
In international trade, usance is the allowable period of time, permitted by custom, between the date of the bill and its payment. The usance of a bill varies between countries, often ranging from two weeks to two months. It is also the interest charged on borrowed funds. Usance is derived from the action of usury, as well as the use of goods for economic purposes.
The statement of retained earnings (retained earnings statement) is a financial statement that outlines the changes in retained earnings for a company over a specified period. This statement reconciles the beginning and ending retained earnings for the period, using information such as net income from the other financial statements, and is used by analysts to understand how corporate profits are utilized.
An offensive competitive strategy is a type of corporate strategy that consists of actively trying to pursue changes within the industry. Companies that go on the offensive generally make acquisitions and invest heavily in research and development (R&D) and technology in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. They will also challenge competitors by cutting off new or under-served markets, or by going head-to-head with them.
An eavesdropping attack, also known as a sniffing or snooping attack, is a theft of information as it is transmitted over a network by a computer, smartphone, or another connected device.
A custodian is a financial institution that holds customers’ securities for safekeeping in order to minimize the risk of their theft or loss. A custodian holds securities and other assets in electronic or physical form. Since they are responsible for the safety of assets and securities that may be worth hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, custodians generally tend to be large and reputable firms. A custodian is sometimes referred to as a custodian bank.
A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), sponsored by the Canadian government, encourages investing in a child’s future post-secondary education. Subscribers to an RESP make contributions that build up tax-free earnings. The government contributes a certain amount to these plans for children under age 18.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is a national organization of real estate brokers, known as realtors, created to promote the real estate profession and foster professional behavior in its members. The association has its own code of ethics to which it requires its members to adhere.
An allowance for bad debt is a valuation account used to estimate the amount of a firm’s receivables that may ultimately be uncollectible. It is also known as an allowance for doubtful accounts. When a borrower defaults on a loan, the allowance for bad debt account and the loan receivable balance are both reduced for the book value of the loan.
Oil initially in place (OIIP) is the amount of crude oil first estimated to be in a reservoir. Oil initially in place differs from oil reserves, as OIIP refers to the total amount of oil that is potentially in a reservoir and not the amount of oil that can be recovered. Calculating OIIP requires engineers to determine how porous the rock surrounding the oil is, how high water saturation might be and the net rock volume of the reservoir. The numbers for the aforementioned factors are established by conducting a series of test drills around the reservoir.