A slang term used to describe a situation in which a company's executives accelerate the vesting of their employee stock options. Usually, accelerated…

A type of structured investment that involves the owner of an oil and gas interest selling a specific volume production in that field or property. The…

Any form of accounting that does not follow principles of conservatism. While there are many methods by which financial statements can be fudged, it always…

An economic cycle of recession and recovery that resembles a "W" in charting. A W-shaped recovery represents the shape of the chart of certain economic…

A metric designed by Stern Stewart & Co consulting firm that attempts to measure wealth created (or destroyed) for shareholders by a company. The WAI…

A term that refers to a marketing strategy for websites. Web syndication describes an arrangement between two or more Internet companies for one company…

A way to calculate the cost of a company's equity that gives different weight to different aspects of the equities. Instead of lumping retained earnings…

1. Traditionally, the unofficial and unpublished earnings per share (EPS) forecasts that circulate among professionals on Wall Street. In this context…

An informational document issued by companies trying to promote or highlight the significance of a planned product or service. Similar to an offering…

A European term used in conjunction with the Companies Act Of 1985, which refers to a resolution that must be passed before a target company in a buyout…

An index that measures and tracks the changes in price of goods in the stages before the retail level. Wholesale price indexes (WPIs) report monthly to…

An economic indicator that measures the value in U.S. dollars of all merchant wholesalers' sales and inventories. Wholesale trade is one component of…

Removing funds from an account, plan, pension or trust. In some cases, conditions must be met in order to withdraw funds without penalization. There are…

Work that has not been completed but has already incurred a capital investment from the company.This is usually recorded as an asset on the balance sheet…

A nominal quote in the municipal bond market at which price a dealer is willing to either buy or sell a particular issue. This differs from a firm quote…

A measure of both a company's efficiency and its short-term financial health. The working capital ratio is calculated as: Positive working capital means…

A loan whose purpose is to finance everyday operations of a company. A working capital loan is not used to buy long term assets or investments.  Instead…

A managerial accounting strategy focusing on maintaining efficient levels of both components of working capital, current assets and current liabilities…

A measurement comparing the depletion of working capital to the generation of sales over a given period. This provides some useful information as to how…

A ratio used to measure a company's ability to recover operating costs from annual revenue. This ratio is calculated by taking the company's total annual…

Formerly known as WorldCom, now known as MCI, this U.S.-based telecommunications company was at one time the second-largest long distance phone company…

A court order that permits a creditor to instruct a sheriff to seize and sell assets/property of a debtor in order to pay off a debt. To get the debtor…

Reducing the book value of an asset because it is overvalued compared to the market value. This is usually reflected in the company's income statement…

A reduction in the value of an asset or earnings by the amount of an expense or loss. Companies are able to write off certain expenses that are required…

An increase made to the book value of an asset because it is undervalued compared to market values.A write-up will increase a company's accounting book…

The book value of an asset after accounting for depreciation and amortization. Companies reduce the book value of assets because they are overvalued.

In taxation, year refers to the calendar year that runs from January 1st to December 31st. However, corporations can generally set the time period for…

The income return on an investment. This refers to the interest or dividends received from a security and is usually expressed annually as a percentage…

A form of compensation that a mortgage broker, acting as the intermediary, receives from the original lender for selling an interest rate to a borrower…

The rate of return anticipated on a bond if it is held until the maturity date. YTM is considered a long-term bond yield expressed as an annual rate…

The lowest potential yield that can be received on a bond without the issuer actually defaulting. The yield to worst is calculated by making worst-case…

A series of  indexes developed by Zacks Investment Research, Inc., to provide a benchmark for the lifecycle of target-date funds, with a different index…

The capital gains tax rate of 0% that is charged to individuals who sell property in an "enterprise zone". The zero capital gains rate can be applied…

A portfolio constructed to have zero systematic risk or, in other words, a beta of zero. Such a portfolio would have the same expected return as the risk-free rate.

A type of  bad debt that is so old a person may have forgotten he or she owed it in the first place. The debt has likely been given up on by the company…