What Is Securities-Based Lending? The term securities-based lending (SBL) refers to the practice of making loans using securities as collateral. Securities-based lending provides ready access to capital that can be used for almost any purpose such as buying real estate, purchasing property like jewelry or a sports car, or investing in a business. The only restrictions to…
What Is a Cash Discount? Cash discounts refer to an incentive that a seller offers to a buyer in return for paying a bill before the scheduled due date. In a cash discount, the seller will usually reduce the amount that the buyer owes by either a small percentage or a set dollar amount. Key…
What is Earnings Season? Earnings season refers to the months of the year during which most quarterly corporate earnings are released to the public. Earnings season generally occurs in the month immediately following the end of each fiscal quarter. This means that earnings seasons typically fall in January, April, July, and October, because firms need time…
What is an Unusual Item? An unusual item is a nonrecurring or one-time gain or loss that is not considered part of normal business operations. Unusual gains or losses may be recorded on the income statement as a separate component of income from continuing operations, or alternatively, may be identified in the footnotes to the…
What Is High Liquidity? A company’s liquidity indicates its ability to pay debt obligations, or current liabilitieswithout having to raise external capital or take out loans. High liquidity means that a company can easily meet its short-term debts while low liquidity implies the opposite and that a company could imminently face bankruptcy. Key Takeaways: Liquidity…
What Is an Impaired Asset? An impaired asset is an asset that has a market value less than the value listed on the company’s balance sheet. When an asset is deemed to be impaired, it will need to be written down on the company’s balance sheet to its current market value. Key Takeaways Assets should…
What is a Paper Profit (Paper Loss)? A paper profit or loss is an unrealized capital gain (or capital loss) in an investment. For a purchased long investment, it is the difference between the current price and the purchase price. For a sold or short investment, it is the difference between the price when sold…
What is a Noise Trader? Noise trader is generally a term used in academic finance studies associated with the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH). The definition is often vaguely stated throughout the literature though it is mainly intended to describe investors who make decisions to buy or sell based on factors they believe to be helpful…
Stock message boards give investors an opportunity to connect with other investors at all levels of expertise and learn more about profitable investing strategies. Although the communication methods on the Internet can be wide in range—from newsletters to podcasts to blogs—messages boards that focus on investing and personal finance continue to be one of the…