The rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has spurred a wave of selling in the equity markets, with the S&P 500 Index down by about 9% in early afternoon trading from its 52-week, intraday high set on Feb. 19. That retreat has pushed the index to levels last seen in early December, and stocks face…
What Is a Vostro Account? A vostro account is an account a correspondent bank holds on behalf of another bank. These accounts are an essential aspect of correspondent banking in which the bank holding the funds acts as custodian for or manages the account of a foreign counterpart. For example, if a Spanish life insurance…
Markets Today U.S. markets were in free fall today and the selling gathered momentum into the close, as California announced that it was monitoring 8,400 people for potential coronavirus infections. The DJIA was down 4.4% or 1190 points, its biggest one-day point decline in history. Keep in mind, it’s the percentage, not the points, that…
What Is the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP)? The Guaranteed Minimum Pension is the minimum pension that a United Kingdom occupational pension scheme must provide those public sector employees who were contracted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS)between April 6, 1978, and April 5, 1997. Key Takeaways The Guaranteed Minimum Pension exists to…
In the ever-changing world of investing, the Vanguard Wellington fund is a true survivor. Founded in 1929, it was the first balanced mutual fund in the United States. From an initial investment of $100,000, the Vanguard Wellington fund has grown to over $112 billion of assets under management (AUM). The fund managers practice active management…
Etsy, Inc. (ETSY) shares rose more than 14% during Thursday’s session after the company reported better-than-expected fourth quarter financial results across both marketplace and services. Revenue rose 35% to $270 million, beating consensus estimates by $5.08 million, and earnings per share came in at 25 cents, beating consensus estimates by nine cents. Looking ahead, management…
There are several indexes for tracking mid-cap stocks. The most widely referenced is the S&P Mid-Cap 400but others include the Russell Midcap and Wilshire US Mid-Cap Index. Used as a tool for investing in stocks, index mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a stock index is a hypothetical portfolio of securities representing a specific market,…
You’re probably familiar with the debate over which designation can offer the most opportunities for financial professionals: Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or Certified Public Accountant (CPA). We’ve written about the merits of each one in the past, but with the changes happening in the financial services industry, we thought it was…
What Is Loan Grading? Loan grading is a classification system that involves assigning a quality score to a loan based on a borrower’s credit historyquality of the collateraland the likelihood of repayment of the principal and interest. A score can also be applied to a portfolio of loans. Loan grading is part of a lending…