What Does Small Minus Big Mean? Small minus big (SMB) is one of the three factors in the Fama/French stock pricing model. Along with other factors, SMB is used to explain portfolio returns. This factor is also referred to as the “small firm effect,” or the “size effect,” where size is based on a company’s…
What Is a Walk-Through Test? A walk-through test is a procedure used during an audit of an entity’s accounting system to gauge its reliability. A walk-through test traces a transaction step-by-step through the accounting system from its inception to the final disposition. However, walk-throughs aren’t required for accountants but can be instrumental in addressing weaknesses…
Shopify Inc. (SHOP) shares fell more than 3% during Tuesday’s session after Raymond James downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform without a price target. Analyst Brian Peterson believes that near-term headwinds could create a more challenging narrative for the stock. He views last week’s guidance withdrawal as an indication of slowing trends in…
Precious metals are often sought after during periods of heightened market volatility because of their historic nature of acting as one of few natural hedges. More specifically, global investors often look to this group within the commodities market as a store of value due to the supply and demand characteristics of the underlying metals. As…
What Is the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS)? The Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS) is the primary clearing house in the U.S. for large banking transactions. As of 2015, CHIPS settles over 250,000 of trades per day, valued in excess of $1.5 trillion in both domestic and cross-border transactions. CHIPS and the Fedwire funds service used…
The S&P 500 is gaining ground on Tuesday, buoyed by encouraging data in the world’s pandemic hotspots. While many investors hope for a “V-shaped” recovery in the coming months, it’s wise to expect a rocky road, with two-sided action controlling the ticker tape. It may be useful to understand how price structure is likely to…
What Is the Foreign Tax Deduction? The foreign tax deduction is one of the itemized deductions that may be taken by American taxpayers to account for taxes already paid to a foreign government, and are typically classified as withholding tax. The foreign tax deduction is usually taken in lieu of the more common foreign tax…
Walmart, Inc. (WMT) is the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the world with about 11,500 locations in 27 countries worldwide. That’s a dramatic change from nearly six decades ago, when Sam Walton opened a single discount store in Rogers, Arkansas. Eight years later, the company went public and rapidly expanded. Today, the company operates an empire…
What Is Construction Occupancy Protection Exposure (COPE)? Construction Occupancy Protection Exposure (COPE) is a set of risks that property insurance underwriters review when determining whether to offer an insurance policy. COPE allows the insurer to evaluate the risks of insuring a piece of real estate, which will ultimately determine whether a policy is created or not….