Posts

Goals of Advertising Advertising has three main purposes: To inform: Informative advertising helps build awareness about your brand, product or service. To persuade: Persuasive advertising tries to convince its audience that a company’s offerings are the best for their needs. Its goal is to influence consumers or businesses to switch brands, try a new service, or stay loyal to the current brand. To remind: Reminder ads prompt people to remember their need for a product or service, or how it can benefit them if they buy more soon....

Ad valorem is Latin for “according to value,” and this kind of tax is used quite often at the state and local level in the U.S. These taxes comprise a variety of taxes charged abroad, too. When a country chooses a flat rate for an import tax or a value-added tax (VAT) that is issued when someone brings an item into or out of the country, that is often an ad valorem tax....

Alternate name: Dealer financing The most common example of indirect lending takes place in the auto industry. Dealerships will often work with third-party lenders to finance auto loans for their customers. The dealership’s relationship with its third-party lenders allows borrowers to get approved for a car loan at that location, instead of ushering paperwork between their bank and the dealership. A dealer may originate the loan, which is then bought by the bank, or it may accept a loan application from a potential buyer then forward the application to the bank....

Definition and Examples of IBAN An IBAN is a unique identifier that banks around the world can use to reference a specific bank account. The IBAN system includes information about the bank account, the bank that holds the account, and the country where the account is located. Banks use the information to quickly send money to (or receive funds from) an account in a different country. If you want to send money to a bank account in another country, you often need to provide an IBAN, which you can request from the receiving party....

You can begin safely investing in crude oil by learning some background and then investing in crude oil exchange-traded funds (ETFs).​ Definition and Example of Oil ETFs Oil commodity ETFs provide a simple way to expose your investment strategy to the price and performance of oil without actually owning any oil itself. Oil ETFs consist of either oil company stocks or futures and derivative contracts that track the price of oil, or oil-related indexes in some cases....

Let’s take a look at how factor investing works in practice and how it can be applied to your portfolio. Definition and Examples of Factor Investing Factor investing, also known as smart beta investing, is a form of investing based on factors that are proven to drive stock returns. Research has shown that stock returns are driven mostly by market performance and individual company characteristics but that these five attributes also have contributed notably to returns....

Fidelity’s quarterly sector update from the end of 2021 gives you a general example of how investment analysis works. The report estimated that the financials, materials, and health care sectors would outperform the stock market. It also associated this performance with relatively cheap valuations and a continued economic recovery. However, due to several factors such as high valuations and possible interest rate hikes, Fidelity projected that the real estate and utilities sectors would not perform as well as they have in the past....

File amended tax return Form 1040-X if the information you’re correcting will alter the tax calculations on your original return. For example, if you claimed the wrong filing status, or need to change information about your income, deductions or credits you should file a Form 1040-X. You can also use the form to make certain elections after the Tax Day deadline or claim a carryback from a loss or unused credit....

How Mercantilism Worked Mercantilism—a form of economic nationalism—funds corporate, military, and national growth. It advocates trade policies that protect domestic industries. In mercantilism, the government strengthens the private owners of the factors of production. These four factors of production are: EntrepreneurshipCapital goodsNatural resourcesLabor Mercantilism establishes monopolies, grants tax-free status, and grants pensions to favored industries. It imposes tariffs on imports. It also prohibits the emigration of skilled labor, capital, and tools....

Definition and Examples of Rent Control The National Apartment Association defines rent control as “government-enforced price control measures limiting the rents that property owners may charge in market-rate rental housing.” Again, this simply means government agencies can cap how much a landlord can charge for rent. Rent-control laws can apply at the local, state, or federal level. As of 2020, only Oregon and Washington, D.C., had broad rent-control measures in place....

For example, if you buy a share in a company, the value of that share can change, either rising or falling. There is a risk that the price of the share will fall after you purchase it. In the worst case, the company will go bankrupt, leaving you with worthless stock in a business that no longer exists. An example of a different type of risk can occur when you purchase a bond....

If you have subsidized loans, the federal government pays your interest costs for you, which prevents your loan from growing during deferment. With unsubsidized debt, you’re responsible for interest costs. You can pay interest costs each month if you choose, and that approach minimizes your total lifetime cost of borrowing. Alternatively, you have the option of adding those interest costs to your loan balance, or “capitalizing” the interest. In that case, your loan balance grows each month....

For tax year 2022, the standard deduction is $12,950 if you’re a single filer. For tax year 2023, the standard deduction is $13,850 if you’re a single filer. If you’re married and filing jointly, your standard deduction will be double that of a single filer. You would need itemized deductions totaling more than the applicable standard deduction to make itemizing worth your while financially. Some tax-deductible interest can be claimed as an adjustment to income, and this is much more advantageous....

The average credit score across the entire United States was 714 in 2021, according to Experian’s State of Credit Study. The data is based on the FICO scores, which generates credit scores on a range from 300 to 850. While higher credit scores are obviously better, breaking down the credit score into brackets brings more clarity to specific credit score numbers. FICO Score Rating Categories 800-850: Exceptional740-799: Very Good670-739: Good580-669: Fair<580: Very poor...

The other major motorcycle pricing resources are the NADA Guides produced by J.D. Power. “NADA” stands for the National Automobile Dealers Association, which provided comprehensive buying guides for used cars. In 2017, J.D. Power bought the company and expanded the offerings to includes motorcycles, RVs, classic cars, boats, and manufactured homes. NADA Guides offers print appraisal books on both newer motorcycles (as well as snowmobiles, ATVs, and personal watercraft) and vintage, collectible, and retro motorcycles....

For actively managed funds or portfolios, tracking error is also called “active manager risk.” Risk and error generally have negative connotations, but, in this context, they are not necessarily negative. How Tracking Error Works Let’s use two ETFs to show how tracking error works. The index fund we’ll use is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The actively managed fund we’ll use is the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). SPY is an S&P 500 index fund....

Wealth managers often have access to a wider range of financial products and services. Clients pay a fee, but they receive strategies designed with their finances in mind. Services offered by wealth managers may include: Investment management and advice, including retirement planningAccounting and tax servicesReview of health care and Social Security benefitsCharitable giving plansHelp with starting or selling a business You likely don’t need a wealth manager if you don’t have a high net worth....

Buzzwords in Job Descriptions These phrases are repeated so frequently because it’s hard to encapsulate a job, company, and desired qualities of an employee in a short space. But don’t dismiss buzzy keywords just because of overuse—the words and phrases in job ads can provide much insight into the role, culture, expectations, and company. Buzzwords in Your Resume Don’t dismiss buzzwords in your resume either. Recruiters and hiring managers see right through a resume crowded with meaningless words....

Choosing a duplex as a first-time homebuyer comes with advantages and disadvantages. It gives you the opportunity to earn more income, but you’ll face the hassles of being a landlord. Are you up for the challenge? Pros and Cons of Buying a Duplex Pros Explained Extra income. Living in one side of a duplex and renting the other side to tenants can create an additional income stream. Besides putting extra cash in your pocket, renting one unit of a duplex can improve your debt-to-income ratio, a measure that lenders use to determine your ability to repay a loan....

Learn what to do after buying a house, including changing your mailing address and reassessing your monthly budget. Notify Others You Have Moved Raise your hand if you’ve received a holiday card from people you don’t know, addressed to someone who doesn’t live at your house. As common as this occurrence is, it’s possible to avoid the same happening to you. It’s always a good idea to let loved ones know you’ve changed houses, but it’s more important to make sure that your address is updated everywhere else....