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What is the Federal Funds Rate? The federal funds rate is the interest rate used for overnight lending between banks. The amount banks are able to...

The Federal Open Market Committee's purpose is to manage financial outcomes through monetary policy.

What is the Advance Decline Ratio? The advance decline ratio is used to determine how the market performed on a given day. It does this by comparin...

A strong dollar is one that has earned trust on an international scale. It reflects a reliable currency...at least, more reliable than that of othe...

What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is usually just called the Dow. It’s an average of 30 of the most well...

Are monopolies evil? Should they be regulated? Should they be illegal? Monopolies in and of themselves, are neither good nor evil. How they conduct...

What's a yankee bond, and does it stick a feather in its cap and call it macaroni?

What is a Country Basket (Index Fund)? Investing internationally can be a challenge, as foreign exchange, different accounting rules, time zones an...

PERLS is a bond that pays interest twice a year, but whose yield is linked to a given foreign exchange rate. It also doesn't string very well on a...

How do you judge the performance of an index fund? For index funds, they're really just a reflection of the stocks and bonds they, uh... reflect. S...

What's the SEC? Easy. Seals Eating Candy. Or maybe Silly Elephants Canoodling? We can never remember. Guess it's time to watch this video and refre...

What is inflation, and if we poke it with a pin, will it pop?

What is Capital Gains Distribution? Owners of equity based mutual funds which are successful in investing will inevitably be the recipients of thei...

What is a Budget? A budget is a projected estimate of revenues and expenses within a fixed time period. It is intended to be a guide and reference...

Who invests in stocks? 401k plans, pension funds, institutional investors, banks, traders, clients of Schwab, Fidelity, and Franklin. Joe Blow buys...

A naked option isn't as risqueé as it sounds...it's just an option you sell without having enough of the underlying security to cover your butt if...

What rights does a public stockholder have? Common shareholders elect the board of directors. They vote. They have the right to quarterly financial...

What are Bonds? The simplest explanation is that a bond is essentially an I.O.U. that is issued by a corporate or government institution to borrow...

What is the Free Rider Problem? The free rider problem occurs when people take more than their contributed fair share of a common resource. In the...

What is Coupon Stripping? Coupon stripping is the process of taking a coupon bearing bond and separating the coupons into individual zero coupon se...