Investment ... A thoroughly analyzed loan of money backed by collateral with greater immediate value than the loan amount may be considered an investment...
Inflation Targeting ... Because interest rates and the inflation rate tend to be inversely related, the likely moves of the central bank to raise or lower interest rates become more transparent under the policy of inflation targeting. Examples: if inflation appears to be above the target, the bank is likely to raise interest rates...
Marketing ... It can also be defined as "the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships, in order to capture value from customers in return". This replaces the previous definition, which still appears in the AMA's dictionary: "an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders." It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
Life Insurance ... The advantage for the policy owner is "peace of mind", in knowing that the death of the insured person will not result in financial hardship for loved ones. Life policies are legal contracts and the terms of the contract describe the limitations of the insured events...
Vehicle Insurance ... Several jurisdictions have experimented with a "pay-as-you-drive" insurance plan which is paid through a gasoline tax (petrol tax). This would address issues of uninsured motorists and also charge based on the miles (kilometres) driven, which could theoretically increase the efficiency of the insurance, through streamlined collection...
History Of Money ... Many items have been used as commodity money such as natural scarce precious metals, cowry shells, barley, beads etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value...
Money ... Money originated as commodity money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money... Fiat money is without intrinsic use value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private"... The money supply of a country consists of currency (banknotes and coins) and bank money (the balance held in checking accounts and savings accounts)...
Fiat Money ... Fiat money originated in 11th century China, and its use became widespread during the Yuan and Ming dynasties... Characteristics The term fiat money has been defined variously as: any money declared by a government to be legal tender... state-issued money which is neither convertible by law to any other thing, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard...
Insurance ... Insurance is a commercial enterprise and a major part of the financial services industry, but individual entities can also self-insure through saving money for possible future losses...
Local Currency ... A few such currencies, however, developed into monetary systems in their own right. The idea of using free banking to produce an alternative, community-level currency dates back at least as far as the German Credit Unions in the 1800s...
Banknote ... Banknotes offer an alternative bearer form of money, but the advantages and disadvantages between the two forms of bearer money are complex and so in different circumstances the overall advantage can lie with either form... Numerous banks and nations have incorporated many types of countermeasures in order to keep the money secure... Paper money originated in two forms: drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and "bills", which were issued with a promise to convert at a later date...
Tax Rate ... In a jurisdiction with a flat tax on earnings, every taxpayer pays the same percentage of income, regardless of income or consumption. Some proponents of this system propose to exempt a fixed amount of earnings (such as the first $10,000) from the flat tax...
Demand Deposit ... Money Supply Demand deposits are usually considered part of the narrowly defined money supply, as they can be used, via checks and drafts, as a means of payment for goods and services and to settle debts... During times of financial crisis, bank customers will withdraw their funds in cash, leading to a drop in demand deposits and a shrinking of the money supply...
Value Added Tax ... The "value added" to a product by a business is the sale price charged to its customer, minus the cost of materials and other taxable inputs. A VAT is like a sales tax in that ultimately only the end consumer is taxed...
Business ... The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the singular usage to mean a particular organization; the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness; and the broadest meaning, which encompasses all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services...
Monetary Policy ... Overview Monetary policy rests on the relationship between the rates of interest in an economy, that is, the price at which money can be borrowed, and the total supply of money... Where currency is under a monopoly of issuance, or where there is a regulated system of issuing currency through banks which are tied to a central bank, the monetary authority has the ability to alter the money supply and thus influence the interest rate (to achieve policy goals)... A policy is referred to as contractionary if it reduces the size of the money supply or increases it only slowly, or if it raises the interest rate...