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how much of foreign exchange (forex/fx) “deep liquidity” is really just unbacked leverage and what is the effect?
I'd think that liquidity and speed are prioritized (even over retail brokers and in come cases over PoP) for institutional traders who by default have large positions. When the going gets tough, these guys are out and the small guys - trading through average retail brokers - are the ones left holding the empty bag.
Can I estimate other people's credit limit at the grocery store?
The minimum amount is set by the merchant services provider based on the kind of business, its location and the history. It mostly has nothing to do with you personally. However, the minimum amount differs based on the kind of credit cards being used. For example, foreign credit cards will require signatures on much lo...
What do these numbers mean? (futures)
The other answer covers the mechanics of how to buy/sell a future contract. You seem however to be under the impression that you can buy the contract at 1,581.90 today and sell at 1,588.85 on expiry date if the index does not move. This is true but there are two important caveats: In other words, it is not the case tha...
The Benefits/Disadvantages of using a credit card
In the UK, using a credit card adds a layer of protection for consumers. If something goes wrong or you bought something that was actually a scam, if you inform the credit card company with the necessary documents they will typically clear the balance for that purchase (essentially the burden of 'debt' is passed to th...
New Pooled Registered Pension Plan details?
The general idea of the PRPP is so that small business who cannot afford to offer a plan alone will be able to pool resources with others along with self-employed to create voluntary, defined-contribution pension plans that would be managed by private sector financial institutions. The PRPP concept would offer more opt...
How can I determine if leaving a lower paying, tax advantaged, job for a higher paying one makes sense financially?
You'd be moving from 33.5K of taxable income + 16.5K of untaxable income, to 65K of taxable income (worst case). So the question is whether the net from the extra 31.5K of taxable income is more than the 16.5K, and since marginal tax rates in the relevant brackets are no more than 32% according to the table you posted ...
Where are the non floated Groupon shares
The original investors and founders own them. Think about it this way - When you hear that an IPO priced at $10 opened at $50, is that 'good or 'bad'? Of course, it depends who you are. If you are the guy that got them at $10, you're happy. If you are the founder of the company, you are thinking the banker you paid to ...
Why doesn’t every company and individual use tax-havens to pay less taxes?
In a nutshell, there are significant entrance hurdles, legally and especially financially. The fixed cost and effort to get it set up is high (although later, the proportional cost and efforts are negligible). Therefore, this is only of interest for taxable amounts of seven digits or more - which most people don’t reac...
Why don't SPY, SPX, and the e-mini s&p 500 track perfectly with each other?
I thought the other answers had some good aspect but also some things that might not be completely correct, so I'll take a shot. As noted by others, there are three different types of entities in your question: The ETF SPY, the index SPX, and options contracts. First, let's deal with the options contracts. You can bu...
Are there any investment strategies which take advantage of an in-the-money option price that incorporates no “time value”?
Options can have a negligible time premium. For American1 calls the time premium is never negative. If it had a negative premium it would be profitable to exercise it immediately. A deep in the money call has a delta of exactly one. That is, it's price movements completely mirror the price movements of the underlying s...
Pay off car loan entirely or leave $1 until the end of the loan period?
Among the other fine answers, you might also consider that owning a vehicle outright will free you from the requirement to carry insurance on the vehicle (you must still carry insurance on yourself in most states).
Buying insurance (extended warranty or guarantee) on everyday goods / appliances?
I politely decline. Insurance is there to protect me against catastrophic financial loss (huge medical bills, owing a mortgage on a house that burned down, etc.) not a way to game the system and pay for routine expenses or repairs.
How to calculate how far a shorted stock's price can rise before broker issues a margin call?
When margin is calculated as the equity percentage of an account, the point at which a broker will forcibly liquidate is typically called "maintenance margin". In the US, this is 25% for equities. To calculate the price at which this will occur, the initial and maintenance margin must be known. The formula for a long ...
What is the “point” (purpose) of the S&P 500?
I hate to point to Wikipedia as an answer, but it does describe exactly what you are looking for... The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those o...
Is this Employee Stock Purchase Plan worth it when adding my student loan into the equation?
It's 5% free money, if you believe the company's stock is fairly valued and likely to grow and/or return reasonable dividends until you're ready to sell it. There's usually a minimum holding period of a few months to a year before these discounted shares can be sold; take that into account
How fast does the available amount of gold in the world increase due to mining?
Approximately 5.3 billion ounces have been mined. This puts the total value of all gold in the world at about $9.5 trillion, based on $1800/oz. Total world net worth was $125T in 2006. There's an odd thing that happens when one asset's value is suddenly such a large percent of all assets. (This reminds me of how and wh...
Can I take money from my employee stock and put it towards another stock?
The question is for your HR department, or administrator of the plan. How long must you hold the employee shares before you are permitted to sell? Loyalty to your company is one thing, but after a time, you will be too heavily invested in one company, and you need to diversify out. One can cite any number they wish, 5%...
Insurance company sent me huge check instead of pharmacy. Now what?
This is not a mistake. This is done for "Out of Network" providers, and mainly when the patient is an Anthem member, be it Blue Shield or Blue Cross. Even though an "Assignment of Benefits" is completed by the patient, and all fields on the claim from (CMS1500 or UB04) are completed assigning the benefits to the provid...
Who buys variable annuities?
An annuity makes sense in a few different scenarios: In general, they are not the best deal around (and are often ripoffs), and will almost certainly be a bad deal if pitched by a tax preparer, insurance salesman, etc. Keep in mind that any "guarantees" offered are guarantees made by an insurance company. The only bac...
Selling put and call Loss Scenario Examples
Here's a simple example for a put, from both sides. Assume XYZ stock trades at $200 right now. Let's say John writes a $190 out of the money put on XYZ stock and sells this put to Abby for the premium, which is say $5. Assume the strike date, or date of settlement, is 6 months from now. Thus Abby is long one put opti...
Can you recommend some good websites/brokers for buying/selling stocks in India?
There are quite a few online brokers ... All of these have different pricing structure and the right one would depend on the amount of & type of trading you are doing, for example Reliance Money offer 1 paise brokrage, but with a higer anual fees, so it makes sense if you are doing delivery trades and not IPO or Day tr...
Buying Fixed Deposit in India from Europe
If the intention is after maturing to convert back the Rupees into Euro, its not a good idea. Generally the interest rate in Euro and the interest rate in Rupee are offset by the predicted exchange rate. i.e. the Rupee will fall compared to Euro by similar rate. The point at Step 5 is generally what is expected to hap...
Should I buy a home or rent in my situation?
If I were you, I would rent. Wait to buy a home. Here is why: When you say that renting is equal in cost to a 30-year mortgage, you are failing to consider several aspects. See this recent answer for a list of things that need to be considered when comparing buying and renting. You have no down payment. Between the...
Can a company charge you for services never requested or received?
In general, you can only be charged for services if there is some kind of contract. The contract doesn't have to be written, but you have to have agreed to it somehow. However, it is possible that you entered into a contract due to some clause in the home purchase contract or the contract with the home owners' associat...
Would I qualify for a USDA loan?
How realistic is it that I will be able to get a home within the 250,000 range in the next year or so? Very unlikely in the next year. The debt/income ratio isn't good enough, and your credit score needs to show at least a year of regular payments without late or default issues before you can start asking for mortgag...
Is it possible to create a self-managed superannuation fund to act as a mortage offset? (Australia)
You can set up a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) and use it to buy residential investment property, and as Justin has mentioned even borrow to acquire the investment property through the SMSF. However, you cannot hold your home in the SMSF, as this would be classed as an in-house asset, and you are only allowed to hold...
Does the “Free Ride” rule always apply to your entire collection of shares in a particular stock?
Your question is unanswerable as you haven't provided enough information. I.e. If those shares cost $1000 and you have $50000 ( or any number above $1000) of cash available in the account then you can't possibly free ride. I think your understanding of the free ride rule is incorrect. Basically what this rule is statin...
Is it smarter to buy a small amount of an ETF every 2 or 3 months, instead of monthly?
I personally invest in 4 different ETFs. I have $1000 to invest every month. To save on transaction costs, I invest that sum in only one ETF each month, the one that is most underweight at the time. For example, I invest in XIC (30%), VTI (30%), VEA (30%), and VWO (10%). One month, I'll buy XIC, next month VTA, next...
How to calculate 1 share movement
Unless other people believe you have a reason for selling at a lower price, your sale probably has no lasting effect at all on the market. Of course, if people see you dump a few million dollars' worth of shares at a discount, they may be inclined to believe you have a reason. But if you just sell a few, they will conc...
What do “cake and underwear” stocks refer to?
I interpret that to mean "vice" stocks and necessities. "Cake" may just be a nicer way of saying "sin" (see The Virtues of Vice Stocks) and includes "lesser sins" like sweets and soda in the group. "Underwear" likely means things that people are going to buy regardless of the economy - daily staples, which are general...
Buy and sell stock at specific earnings
Enjoy the free trades as long as they last, and take advantage of it since this is no longer functionally a tax on your potential profits. On a side note, RobinHood and others in the past have roped customers in with low-to-zero fee trades before changing the business paradigm completely or ceasing operations. All bro...
What could be the harm in sharing my American Express statements online?
As a person who has had several part time assistants in the past I will offer you a simple piece of advise that should apply regardless of what country the assistant is located. If you have an assistant, personal or business, virtual or otherwise, and you don't trust that person with this type of information, get a dif...
Why does capital gains tax apply to long term stock holdings?
Most well-off people have investments which they have held for long periods of time, often of very substantial value such as a large part of a company. They also have influence on legislators and officials through various social contacts, lobbyists, and contributions. They managed to convince these law makers to offe...
Why do people buy stocks that pay no dividend?
people buy stocks because there is more to Return on Investment than whether dividends are issued or not. Some people want ownership and the ability to influence decisions by using the rights associated with their class of stock. Another reason would be to park capital in a place that would grow faster than the rate of...
How to get started with the stock market? [duplicate]
You can try paper trading to sharpen your investing skills(identifying stocks to invest, how much money to allocate and stuff) but nothing compares to getting beaten black and blue in the real world. When virtual money is involved you mayn't care, because you don't loose anything, but when your hard earned money disapp...
Shorting Stocks And Margin Account Minimum
And what exactly do I profit from the short? I understand it is the difference in the value of the stock. So if my initial investment was $4000 (200 * $20) and I bought it at $3800 (200 * $19) I profit from the difference, which is $200. Do I also receive back the extra $2000 I gave the bank to perform the trade? Eithe...
How do you get out of a Mutual Fund in your 401(k)?
Most 401k plans (maybe even all 401k plans as a matter of law) allow the option of moving the money in your 401k account from one mutual fund to another (within the group of funds that are in the plan). So, you can exit from one fund and put all your 401k money (not just the new contributions) into another fund in th...
What is the different between one company's two OTCMKTS symbols?
I have not looked in details but apparently the company has (at least) a dual listing in Hong Kong (its main listing, ticker 700) and in the US (ticker TCTZF). It also has an ADR (TCEHY), the underlying of which is the HK line. The two US listings essentially trade at the same price and will provide very similar return...
What is a “Junk Bond”?
From wikipedia: In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, but typically pay higher yields than better quality bonds in o...
Why do stock prices change? [duplicate]
None of that is filtered my way as a "part owner". Sure it is, it's just not always obvious. When a company makes money it either: Other then the fourth option, the first three all increase the total value of the company. If you owned 1% of a company that was worth X, and is now worth X+1, the value of that 1% ownersh...
Separate bank account for security deposit from tenant
Per Md. REAL PROPERTY Code Ann. § 8-203: (d) (1) (i) The landlord shall maintain all security deposits in federally insured financial institutions, as defined in § 1-101 of the Financial Institutions Article, which do business in the State. (ii) Security deposit accounts shall be maintained in...
How do I calculate two standard deviations away from the stock price?
The formula for standard deviation is fairly simple in both the discrete and continuous cases. It's mostly safe to use the discrete case when working with adjusted closing prices. Once you've calculated the standard deviation for a given time period, the next task (in the simplest case) is to calculate the mean of that...
How does the yield on my investments stack up against other investors?
It can be pretty hard to compute the right number. What you need to know for your actual return is called the dollar-weighted return. This is the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_rate_of_return computed for your actual cash flows. So if you add $100 per month or whatever, that has to ...
Is trading stocks easier than trading commodities?
One reason why you may have gotten this advice is that stocks have an expected real return over time, while commodities do not. Therefore, when gambling on individual stocks, odds are in your favor that they will ultimately go up over time. You may do better or worse than the market as a whole, but they will likely go ...
Fractional Reserve Banking and Insolvency
You bet if it was so simple. This is when financial acumen comes into its true form. The bank would never ever want to go insolvent. What it does is, take insurance against the borrower defaulting. Remember the financial crisis of 2008 which was the outcome of borrowers defaulting. The banks had created derivatives ba...
Why do governments borrow money instead of printing it?
One important answer is still missing: governments may not be able to do print money because of international agreements. This is in fact a very important reason: it applies to the entire Eurozone. (I admit that many Eurozone countries also not allowed to borrow as much as they do now, but somehow that's considered a ...
Schwab wants to charge me interest on the money I received for selling TSLA short
Brokers have the right to charge interest on any stock that they lend you. Since you borrowed the TSLA to short it, the owner of those shares can charge you interest until you return them. If you are not getting charged interest on some shares that you have borrowed to short, consider it generosity on the part of the l...
What part of buying a house would make my net worth go down?
You can look at buying a house as being a long term investment in not paying rent. In the short time there are costs to buying (legal, taxes, etc). This depends on only buying house of the size/location you need e.g. no better then what you would have rented. House buying tent to work out best when there is high in...
ESPP cost basis and taxes
This answer fills in some of the details you are unsure about, since I'm further along than you. I bought the ESPP shares in 2012. I didn't sell immediately, but in 2015, so I qualify for the long-term capital gains rate. Here's how it was reported: The 15% discount was reported on a W2 as it was also mentioned twice...
As an investing novice, what to do with my money?
A lot of people on here will likely disagree with me and this opinion. In my opinion the answer lies in your own motives and intentions. If you'd like to be more cognizant of the market, I'd just dive in and buy a few companies you like. Many people will say you shouldn't pick your own stocks, you should buy an in...
Pros and Cons of Interest Only Loans
The main disadvantage is that interest rates are higher for the interest-only loan. It's higher risk to the bank, since the principal outstanding is higher for longer. According to the New York Times, "Interest rates are usually an eighth- to a half-percentage point higher than on fully amortized jumbo loans." They're...
Is it legal if I'm managing my family's entire wealth?
There are two issues. The first is that you can manage all of your family's money. The second issue arises if you now "own" all of your family's money. As far as entities go, it is best to keep money or assets in as many different hands as possible. Right now, if someone sued you and won, they could take away not only ...
How to have a small capital investment in US if I am out of the country?
For $100 you better just hold it in Mexico. The cost of opening an account could eat 10% or more of your capital easily, and that won't be able to buy enough shares of an ETF or similar investment to make it worthwhile.
Deducting business expenses paid for by gift card
To quote the answer you linked to: Perhaps the simplest way to think about this is you can only deduct an expense that you actually incur. In other words, the expense should show up on a bank or CC statement. So, if your business purchased the $1000 gift card for $800, you should see a $800 charge appearing on a busine...
How should I prepare for the next financial crisis?
In the 2008 housing crash, cash was king. Cash can make your mortgage payment, buy groceries, utilities, etc. Great deals on bank owned properties were available for those with cash. Getting a mortgage in 2008-2011 was tough. If you are worried about stock market crashing, then diversification is key. Don't have all...
Is it a good idea to teach children that work is linearly related to income?
I think that is the wrong approach. You certainly need to teach the value of work, but you cannot tie it to income levels as a hard and fast rule. If you do, how do you then explain athletes making millions per year and only 'working' half a year, at most. And, then comparing that person to a person working hard in a f...
Is there any US bank that does not charge for incoming wire transfers?
There are banks and credit unions that don't charge fee for incoming wire transfer. You most likely won't get that from big brick and mortar banks like BofA, Citi but if you are doing it regularly, using another bank that offers it free would save you a lot. Since ACH are free, you can transfer money between those bank...
Should you keep your stocks if you are too late to sell?
In my opinion, the average investor should not be buying individual stocks. One reason why is that the average investor is not capable of reading financial statements and evaluating whether a stock is overpriced or underpriced. As such, they're often tempted to make buy/sell decisions based solely on the current value ...
Paying restaurants in cash instead of credit card - how signficant is this?
You know those perks/benefits that you don't want to give up? Those are funded by the fees you are trying to eliminate by paying cash. The credit card company makes money by interest, merchant fees, and other fees such a annual fees. They give you perks to generate more transactions, thus bringing in more merchant fees...
Is compounding interest on investments a myth?
Compound growth isn't a myth, it just takes patience to experience. A 10% annual return will double the investment not in 10 years, but just over 7. Even though a mortgage claims to use simple interest, if your loan is 5% and there's 14 years to go, $100 extra principal will knock off $200 from the final payment. The...
My bank often blocks my card during purchases - what is the most reliable bank card? (UK)
Having worked in the financial industry, I can say 9:10 times a card is blocked, it is not actually the financial industry, but a credit/credit card monitoring service like "Falcon" for VISA. If you have not added travel notes or similar, they will decline large, our of country purchases as a way to protect you, from w...
Why can't the government simply payoff everyone's mortgage to resolve the housing crisis?
Could it be done? Yes, it could, subject to local law. A variant of such an approach has been suggested for those countries experiencing collapse of demand. One might consider whether whether it applied to secured loans (such as mortgages), unsecured loans, or both; whether it would be capped at a certain absolute (say...
Options for dummies. Can you explain how puts & calls work, simply?
Put options are contracts to sell. You pay me a fee for the right to put the stock (or other underlying security) in my hands if you want to. That happens on a specific date (the strike date) and a specified price (the strike price). You can decide not to exercise that right, but I must follow through and let you sell ...
What are the ins/outs of writing equipment purchases off as business expenses in a home based business?
First of all, Dilip's answer explains well how the business deductions generally work. For most (big) expenses you depreciate it. However, in some cases you need to capitalize it, which is another accounting method. When you capitalize your expense, it becomes part of the basis of the product you're creating. Since you...
Do money markets fluctuate during market crashes?
Wikipedia has a solid article on Money Market Funds which includes a section on "Breaking the Buck" when the money market fund fails to return its full dollar. Money market funds smoothing out the daily (generally small) fluctuations of investing in short-term treasuries directly but have similar risk over longer peri...
How can I buy and sell the same stock on the same day?
you need minimum of 25k otherwise youll reach a limit. you have to wait 3 days for the sale to clear unless youre on margin. dont buy anything based on idiots on twitter or the internet. however, theres some good people to follow though that know what theyre doing. dont listen to this guy saying that etrade or those p...
Why is the price of my investment only updated once per day?
Mutual funds are a collection of other assets, such as stocks, bonds and property. Unless the fund is a type that is traded on an exchange, you will only be able to buy into the fund by applying for units with the fund manager and sell out by contacting the fund manager. These type of non-traded funds are usually updat...
Where can one find intraday prices for mutual funds?
Mutual funds don't have intraday prices. They have net asset values which are calculated periodically (daily or weekly or any other period depending on the fund).
Paying off a loan with a loan to get a better interest rate
Before we were married my wife financed a car at a terrible rate. I think it was around 20%. When trying to refinance it the remaining loan was much larger than the value of the car, so no one was interested in refinancing. I was able to do a balance transfer to a credit card around 10%. This did take on a bit of risk,...
Can an S-Corp write off work and merchandise expenses donated to a non-profit organization?
An S-corp doesn't pay income tax -- taxation is pass-through. This being the case, there are no tax deductions it could take for charitable giving. The solution would be for you to make the contribution out of your own pocket and then personally claim the deduction on your own taxes.
Is it acceptable to receive payment from U.S. in Indian saving bank account via PayPal?
It is fine to receive payments into Indian Savings Bank account. There are no restriction on deposits. There are only restrictions on number of withdrawls in a quarter. A Current[a.k.a Checking] account makes it easier to manage. You haven't asked about tax, but I you may already know you would need to pay taxes irres...
Is there legal reason for restricting someone under 59-1/2 from an in-service rollover from a 401K to an IRA?
You're going to find a lot of conflicting or vague answers on the internet because there are a lot of plan design elements that are set by the plan sponsor (employer). There are laws that mandate certain elements and dictate certain requirements of plan sponsors, many of these laws are related to record keeping and fi...
Historical share price at exact day and time
An alternative to paying thousands of dollars for historical prices by the minute: Subscribe to real time data for as low as USD$1.5/month from your broker, then browse the chart.
For a mortgage down-payment, what percentage is sensible?
The typical down-payment was expected to be 20%. The idea being that if one could not save 1/5 of the cost of a house, they were not responsible enough to ensure repayment of the loan. It is hard to say whether this is truly a relevant measure. However, in the absence of other data points, it is pretty decent. It ty...
which types of investments should be choosen for 401k at early 20's?
The question you should be asking yourself is this: "Why am I putting money into a 401(k)?" For many people, the answer is to grow a (large) nest egg and save for future retirement expenses. Investors are balancing risk and potential reward, so the asset categories you're putting your 401(k) contribution towards will b...
How is stock price determined?
You can interpret prices in any way you wish, but the commonly quoted "price" is the last price traded. If your broker routes those orders, unlikely because they will be considered "unfair" and will probably be busted by the exchange, the only way to drive the price to the heights & lows in your example is to have an o...
Is it possible to influence a company's actions by buying stock?
Another form of 'shareholder' activism. You might be able to buy a single share, which it seems would cost around $35, attend the AGM, and ask questions and/or shout or sing and delay proceedings. There would certainly be security guards or police ready to remove protesters at an AGM.
Pay off car or use money for down payment
Absolutely do not pay off the car if you aren't planning to keep it. The amount of equity that you have from a trade in vehicle will always be a variable when negotiating a new car purchase. By applying cash (a hard asset) to increase your equity, you are trading a fixed amount for an unknown, variable amount. You a...
401k Option - Lifecycle or S&P Index - what are pros and cons?
I think we resolved this via comments above. Many finance authors are not fans of target date funds, as they have higher fees than you'd pay constructing the mix yourself, and they can't take into account your own risk tolerance. Not every 24 year old should have the same mix. That said - I suggest you give thought to...
Why would I vote for an increase in the number of authorized shares?
Why would I want to approve an increase in the number of authorized shares? Because you trust management to use those shares wisely. What it comes down to is, management is asking for money. While it may not be cash they're asking for, it has the same effect. Before you approve this, you have to evaluate the request (s...
Freelancer in India working for Swiss Company
As you are earning an income by working in India, you are required to pay tax in India. If you contract is of freelance, then the income earned by you has to be self declared and taxes paid accordingly. There are some expenses one can claim, a CA should be able to guide you. Not sure why the Swiss comapny is paying t...
online personal finance software that I can host myself
You can use www.mint.com for most of your requirements. It works great for me, it's free and I'd say is secure. Hosting that kind of service just for your will be time-consuming and not necessarily more secure than most of the stuff that is readily available out there. Good luck.
As a total beginner, how do I begin to understand finance & stocks?
I think you've got basics, but you may have the order / emphasis a bit wrong. I've changed the order of the things you've learned in to what I think is the most important to understand: Owning a stock is like owning a tiny chunk of the business Owning stock is owning a tiny chunk of the business, it's not just "like" i...
Why is the dominant investing advice for individuals to use mutual funds, exchanged traded funds (ETFs), etc
Funds - especially index funds - are a safe way for beginning investors to get a diversified investment across a lot of the stock market. They are not the perfect investment, but they are better than the majority of mutual funds, and you do not spend a lot of money in fees. Compared to the alternative - buying individu...
American taxes if living outside the US and get paid by US company on a US bank account
I agree with Joe, having the money deposited to the US bank account may land you in trouble. Technically, a US business paying a foreigner must withhold 30% of the payment, unless a tax treaty says otherwise. The US business should do that based on your W8-BEN/W8-ECI form that you should have given to the business befo...
If I want to take cash from Portugal to the USA, should I exchange my money before leaving or after arriving?
I would just rely on the salary from my job in the US. If you don't have a job in the US, you're very unlikely to get a visa to move there and look for work, and so the question of how to take money there (except for a holiday) doesn't arise. (Unless you have dual Portuguese/American citizenship.)
What happens to a company when it issues preference shares?
In most cases , preferential sharesholders are paid dividends first before common shareholders are paid . In the event of a company bankruptcy , preferential shareholders have the right to be paid first before common shareholders. In exchange for these benefits , preferential shareholders do not have any voting rights....
Are lottery tickets ever a wise investment provided the jackpot is large enough?
Mathematically speaking there would be a point where the expected value EV of purchasing every possible ticket would be favorable but only if you take in account both the jackpot payout and the lesser payouts of all the wining tickets however practically speaking since the powerball has a liability payout limit whic...
What is Fibonacci values?
Usually when a stock is up-trending or down-trending the price does not go up or down in a straight line. In an uptrend the price may go up over a couple of days then it could go down the next day or two, but the general direction would be up over the medium term. The opposite for a downtrend. So if the stock has been ...
Why can it be a bad idea to buy stocks after hours?
There are several reasons it is not recommended to trade stocks pre- or post-market, meaning outside of RTH (regular trading hours). Since your question is not very detailed I have to assume you trade with a time horizon of at least more than a day, meaning you do not trade intra-day. If this is true, all of the above ...
What is a “retail revolving account,” and does it improve my credit score?
To add to what others have said, INSTALLMENT CREDIT is a stronger factor when building credit. An installment credit is essentially a loan with a fixed repay amount such as a student loan and a car loan. Banks (when it comes to buying your first home) want to see that you are financially able to repay a big debt (car l...
Tenant wants to pay rent with EFT
You could setup a Ally account to use solely for this. There is no minimum, no opening balance requirement, and you can do up to 6 transfers a month for free. This would partition your money from other accounts, while giving you the flexibility to move it to other accounts with ease.
Form 1040 - where to place my stipend?
If you're correct that it's not taxable because it's non-taxable reimbursement (which is supported by your W-2), then it should not go on your 1040 at all. If it is taxable, then it really should have appeared on your W-2 and would probably end up on Line 7 of your Form 1040.
My company didn't pay taxes on my behalf
Many a time even if the tax is deducted and paid by the company it does not reflect as a credit against your PAN for various reasons like, you not submitting it to your employer in time, errors of reconciliation, etc. Its advisable that you inform your company finance officer that you have received such a letter. Q1. T...
Is it possible to see option prices from the past?
Yes, past option prices are available for many options, but as far as I know not for free. You can get them from, for example, OptionMetrics. Probably there are other providers as well, which may be cheaper for an individual or small institution. OptionMetrics data comes from the National Best Bid and Offer. Probabl...
Can a entrepreneur hire a self-employed business owner?
Yes. I can by all means start my own company and name myself CEO. If Bill Gates wanted to hire me, I'll take the offer and still be CEO of my own company. Now, whether or not my company makes money and survives is another question. This is the basis of self-employed individuals who contract out their services.
Why do I not see goods and services all change their price when inflation is high?
It can take a while for inflation to seep into all aspects an economy and be felt by a consumer. Often, things that consumers use the most (like gasoline, wheat products, corn products, soy products, and sugar), are commodities spread across global markets with their own pricing which may be impacted by inflation in an...
What market conditions favor small cap stocks over medium cap stocks?
In general, small cap stocks are exposed to more downside during recessions and when credit is tight, because it is more difficult for small companies to raise capital, and minor variations in cash flow have a bigger impact. Coming out of recessions or when credit is cheap, small companies generally perform better than...
Visiting vacation rental with immediate family
No, you cannot deduct it. There's no business substance in such a trip, it is your vacation, and as such cannot be claimed as an expense against the rental income. You may be able to deduct the coffee you buy for the meeting with the property manager while there, but there's no way you can justify a 7-10 days vacation ...
How do I resolve Free Fillable Tax Form error F1040-524-01?
Buried on the IRS web site is the "Fillable Forms Error Search Tool". Rather than including an explanation of errors in the rejection email itself, you're expected to copy and paste the error email into this form, which gives more details about what's wrong. (Don't blame me; I didn't design it.) If I copy your error me...