Liquidated damages are presented in certain legal contracts as an estimate of otherwise intangible or hard-to-define losses to one of the parties. It is a provision that allows for the payment of a specified sum should one of the parties be in breach of contract.
Real income is how much money an individual or entity makes after accounting for inflation. It is sometimes called real wage when referring to an individual’s income. Individuals often closely track their nominal vs. real income to have the best understanding of their purchasing power.
The GDP price deflator measures the changes in prices for all of the goods and services produced in an economy. Gross domestic product or GDP represents the total output of good and services. However, as GDP rises and falls, the metric doesn’t consider the impact of inflation or rising prices on the GDP results. The GDP deflator shows the extent of price changes on GDP by first establishing a base year, and secondly, comparing current prices to prices in the base year.
Kenneth I. Chenault is a former chairman and CEO of American Express. Chenault joined the company in 1981 as a director of strategic planning and moved through various management positions in the company’s different divisions before becoming president and COO in 1997, then chairman and CEO in 2001.
Decoupling is when the returns of one asset class diverges from their expected or normal pattern of correlation with others. Decoupling takes place when different asset classes that typically rise and fall together start to move in opposite directions, such as one increasing and the other decreasing.
A historical cost is a measure of value used in accounting in which the value of an asset on the balance sheet is recorded at its original cost when acquired by the company. The historical cost method is used for fixed assets in the United States under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
A portfolio investment is ownership of a stock, bond, or other financial asset with the expectation that it will earn a return or grow in value over time, or both. It entails passive or hands-off ownership of assets as opposed to direct investment, which would involve an active management role.
The equity method is an accounting technique used by a company to record the profits earned through its investment in another company. With the equity method of accounting, the investor company reports the revenue earned by the other company on its income statement, in an amount proportional to the percentage of its equity investment in the other company.
A growth company is any company whose business generates significant positive cash flows or earnings, which increase at significantly faster rates than the overall economy. A growth company tends to have very profitable reinvestment opportunities for its own retained earnings. Thus, it typically pays little to no dividends to stockholders opting instead to put most or all of its profits back into its expanding business.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett invented the “90/10 investing strategy for the investment of retirement savings. The method involves deploying 90% of one’s investment capital into interest-bearing instruments which present a lower degree of investment risk while allocating the remaining 10% of money towards higher-risk investments. This system is a relatively conservative investment strategy which aims to generate higher yields on the overall portfolio. Following this method, proponents profess the potential losses will typically be limited to the 10% invested in the high-risk investments. However, much depends on the quality of the interest-bearing bonds purchased.