Month: May 2020

A monopsony is a market condition in which there is only one buyer, the monopsonist. Like a monopoly, a monopsony also has imperfect market conditions. The difference between a monopoly and monopsony is primarily in the difference between the controlling entities. A single buyer dominates a monopsonized market while an individual seller controls a monopolized market. Monosonists are common to areas where they supply most or all of the region’s jobs.

Rational behavior refers to a decision-making process that is based on making choices that result in the optimal level of benefit or utility for an individual. The assumption of rational behavior implies that people would rather take actions that benefit them versus actions that are neutral or harm them. Most classical economic theories are based on the assumption that all individuals taking part in an activity are behaving rationally.

An accounting standard is a common set of principles, standards and procedures that define the basis of financial accounting policies and practices. Accounting standards improve the transparency of financial reporting in all countries. In the United States, the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles form the set of accounting standards widely accepted for preparing financial statements. International companies follow the International Financial Reporting Standards, which are set by the International Accounting Standards Board and serve as the guideline for non-U.S. GAAP companies reporting financial statements.

Workout period is the period of time when temporary yield discrepancies between fixed income securities are adjusted. A workout period can be viewed as a sort of reset period, in which bond issuers and credit rating agencies review outstanding fixed income issues and adjust any discrepancies in price/yield, in order to correct any inefficiencies in the market.

Graded vesting is the process by which employees gain, over time, ownership of employer contributions made to the employee’s retirement plan account, traditional pension benefits, or stock options. Graded vesting differs from cliff vesting, in which employees become immediately 100 percent vested following an initial period of service; and immediate vesting, in which contributions are owned by the employee as soon as they start the job.

An International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) is a code that uniquely identifies a specific securities issue. The organization that allocates ISINs in any particular country is the country’s respective National Numbering Agency (NNA).

A bull is an investor who thinks the market, a specific security or an industry is poised to rise. Investors who adopt a bull approach purchase securities under the assumption that they can sell them later at a higher price. Bulls are optimistic investors who are attempting to profit from the upward movement of stocks, with certain strategies suited to that theory.

Renter’s insurance is property insurance that provides coverage for a policyholder’s belongings, liabilities and possibly living expenses in case of a loss event. Renter’s insurance is available to persons renting or subletting a single family home, apartment, duplex, condo, studio, loft or townhome. The policy protects against losses to the tenant’s personal property within the rented property. In addition, a renter’s insurance policy protects against losses resulting from liability claims, such as injuries occurring on the premises that are not due to a structural problem with the property (in this case, the owner’s – not renter’s – policy would apply).

A naked option, also known as an uncovered option, is created when the seller of an option contract does not own the underlying security needed to meet the potential obligation that results from selling (also known as writing or shorting) an option. Selling an option creates an the obligation of the seller to provide the option buyer with the underlying shares or futures contract for a corresponding long position (for a call option) or the cash necessary for a corresponding short position (for a put option) at expiration. If the seller has no ownership of the underlying asset or the corresponding cash necessary for execution of a put option, then the seller will need to acquire it at expiration based on current market prices. With no protection from the price volatility, such positions are considered highly vulnerable to loss and thus referred to as uncovered, or more colloquially, as naked.