Definition of Okun's Law

Okun's Law

Changes in employment give rise to greater-than-proportional changes in output, by a factor of about 2.5.

Blue-sky laws

State laws covering the issue and trading of securities.

Dividend clawback

With respect to a project financing, an arrangement under which the sponsors of a project
agree to contribute as equity any prior dividends received from the project to the extent necessary to cover
any cash deficiencies.

Law of large numbers

The mean of a random sample approaches the mean (expected value) of the
population as the sample grows.

Law of one price

An economic rule stating that a given security must have the same price regardless of the
means by which one goes about creating that security. This implies that if the payoff of a security can be
synthetically created by a package of other securities, the price of the package and the price of the security
whose payoff it replicates must be equal.

Tax clawback agreement

An agreement to contribute as equity to a project the value of all previously
realized project-related tax benefits not already clawed back to the extent required to cover any cash
deficiency of the project.

law of one price

Theory that prices of goods in all countries should be equal when translated to a common currency.

Goodhart's Law

Whatever measure of the money supply is chosen for application of the monetarist rule will soon begin to misbehave.

Say's Law

Belief that supply creates its own demand.

Blue-chip company

Large and creditworthy company.

Cash dividend

A dividend paid in cash to a company's shareholders. The amount is normally based on
profitability and is taxable as income. A cash distribution may include capital gains and return of capital in
addition to the dividend.

Cum dividend

With dividend.

Cumulative dividend feature

A requirement that any missed preferred or preference stock dividends be paid
in full before any common dividend payment is made.

Discounted dividend model (DDM)

A formula to estimate the intrinsic value of a firm by figuring the
present value of all expected future dividends.

Dividend

A dividend is a portion of a company's profit paid to common and preferred shareholders. A stock
selling for $20 a share with an annual dividend of $1 a share yields the investor 5%.

Dividend clientele

A group of shareholders who prefer that the firm follow a particular dividend policy. For
example, such a preference is often based on comparable tax situations.

Dividend discount model (DDM)

A model for valuing the common stock of a company, based on the
present value of the expected cash flows.

Dividend growth model

A model wherein dividends are assumed to be at a constant rate in perpetuity.

Dividend limitation

A bond covenant that restricts in some way the firm's ability to pay cash dividends.

Dividend payout ratio

Percentage of earnings paid out as dividends.

Dividends per share

Amount of cash paid to shareholders expressed as dollars per share.

Dividend policy

An established guide for the firm to determine the amount of money it will pay as dividends.

Dividend rate

The fixed or floating rate paid on preferred stock based on par value.

Dividend reinvestment plan (DRP)

Automatic reinvestment of shareholder dividends in more shares of a
company's stock, often without commissions. Some plans provide for the purchase of additional shares at a
discount to market price. dividend reinvestment plans allow shareholders to accumulate stock over the Long
term using dollar cost averaging. The DRP is usually administered by the company without charges to the
holder.

Dividend rights

A shareholders' rights to receive per-share dividends identical to those other shareholders receive.

Dividend yield (Funds)

Indicated yield represents return on a share of a mutual fund held over the past 12
months. Assumes fund was purchased 1 year ago. Reflects effect of sales charges (at current rates), but not
redemption charges.

Dividend yield (Stocks)

Indicated yield represents annual dividends divided by current stock price.

Dividends per share

dividends paid for the past 12 months divided by the number of common shares
outstanding, as reported by a company. The number of shares often is determined by a weighted average of
shares outstanding over the reporting term.

Extra or special dividends

A dividend that is paid in addition to a firm's "regular" quarterly dividend.

Ex-dividend

This literally means "without dividend." The buyer of shares when they are quoted ex-dividend
is not entitled to receive a declared dividend.

Ex-dividend date

The first day of trading when the seller, rather than the buyer, of a stock will be entitled to
the most recently announced dividend payment. This date set by the NYSE (and generally followed on other
US exchanges) is currently two business days before the record date. A stock that has gone ex-dividend is
marked with an x in newspaper listings on that date.

Homemade dividend

Sale of some shares of stock to get cash that would be similar to receiving a cash dividend.

Indicated dividend

Total amount of dividends that would be paid on a share of stock over the next 12 months
if each dividend were the same amount as the most recent dividend. Usually represent by the letter "e" in
stock tables.

Liquidating dividend

Payment by a firm to its owners from capital rather than from earnings.

Perfect market view (of dividend policy)

Analysis of a decision on dividend policy, in a perfect capital
market environment, that shows the irrelevance of dividend policy in a perfect capital market.

Residual dividend approach

An approach that suggests that a firm pay dividends if and only if acceptable
investment opportunities for those funds are currently unavailable.

Risky asset

An asset whose future return is uncertain.

Signaling view (on dividend policy)

The argument that dividend changes are important signals to investors
about changes in management's expectation about future earnings.

Special dividend

Also referred to as an extra dividend. dividend that is unlikely to be repeated.

Stock dividend

Payment of a corporate dividend in the form of stock rather than cash. The stock dividend
may be additional shares in the company, or it may be shares in a subsidiary being spun off to shareholders.
Stock dividends are often used to conserve cash needed to operate the business. Unlike a cash dividend, stock
dividends are not taxed until sold.

Tax clawback agreement

An agreement to contribute as equity to a project the value of all previously
realized project-related tax benefits not already clawed back to the extent required to cover any cash
deficiency of the project.

Tax differential view ( of dividend policy)

The view that shareholders prefer capital gains over dividends,
and hence low payout ratios, because capital gains are effectively taxed at lower rates than dividends.

Traditional view (of dividend policy)

An argument that "within reason," investors prefer large dividends to
smaller dividends because the dividend is sure but future capital gains are uncertain.

With dividend

Purchase of shares in which the buyer is entitled to the forthcoming dividend. Related: exdividend.

Dividend

A payment a company makes to stockholders. Earnings before income tax. The profit a company made
before income taxes.

Dividend

The payment of after-tax profits to shareholders as their share of the profits of the business for an accounting period.

Dividend income

Income that a company receives in the form of dividends on stock in other companies that it holds.

Dividends

Amounts paid to the owners of a company that represent a share of the income of the company.

dividend payout ratio

Computed by dividing cash dividends for the year
by the net income for the year. It’s simply the percent of net income distributed
as cash dividends for the year.

dividend yield ratio

Cash dividends paid by a business over the most
recent 12 months (called the trailing 12 months) divided by the current
market price per share of the stock. This ratio is reported in the daily
stock trading tables in the Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers.

dividend growth method

a method of computing the cost
of common stock equity that indicates the rate of return
that common shareholders expect to earn in the form of
dividends on a company’s common stock

Dividend

A payment made to shareholders that is proportional to the number of shares
owned. It is authorized by the Board of Directors.

cash dividend

Payment of cash by the firm to its shareholders.

constant-growth dividend discount model

Version of the dividend discount model in which dividends grow at a constant rate.

dividend

Periodic cash distribution from the firm to its shareholders.

dividend discount model

Computation of today’s stock price which states that share value equals the present value of all expected future dividends.

dividend payout ratio

Percentage of earnings paid out as dividends.

ex-dividend date

Date that determines whether a stockholder is entitled to a dividend payment; anyone holding stock before this date is entitled to a dividend.

information content of dividends

dividend increases send good news about cash flow and earnings. dividend cuts send bad news.

MM dividend-irrelevance proposition

Theory that under ideal conditions, the value of the firm is unaffected by dividend policy.

stock dividend

Distribution of additional shares to a firm’s stockholders.

Dividends

Profits paid out to shareholders by a corporation.

Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees

A committee formed in response to SEC chairman Arthur Levitt's initiative to improve the financial
reporting environment in the United States. In a report dated February 1999, the committee
made recommendations for new rules for regulation of financial reporting in the United States that
either duplicated or carried forward the recommendations of the Treadway Commission.

Preferred Stock Stock that has a claim on assets and dividends of a corporation that are prior

to that of common stock. Preferred stock typically does not carry the right to vote.

Dividend

As the term dividend relates to a corporation's earnings, a dividend is an amount paid per share from a corporation's after tax profits. Depending on the type of share, it may or may not have the right to earn any dividends and corporations may reduce or even suspend dividend payments if they are not doing well. Some dividends are paid in the form of additional shares of the corporation. dividends paid by Canadian corporations qualify for the dividend tax credit and are taxed at lower rates than other income.
As the term dividend relates to a life insurance policy, it means that if that policy is "participating", the policy owner is entitled to participate in an equitable distribution of the surplus earnings of the insurance company which issued the policy. Surpluses arise primarily from three sources:
1) the difference between anticipated and actual operating expenses,
2) the difference between anticipated and actual claims experience, and
3) interest earned on investments over and above the rate required to maintain policy reserves. Having regard to the source of the surplus, the "dividend" so paid can be considered, in part at least, as a refund of part of the premium paid by the policy owner.
Life insurance policy owners of participating policies usually have four and sometimes five dividend options from which to choose:
1) take the dividend in cash,
2) apply the dividend to reduce current premiums,
3) leave the dividends on deposit with the insurance company to accumulate at interest like a savings plan,
4) use the dividends to purchase paid-up whole life insurance to mature at the same time as the original policy,
5) use the dividends to purchase one year term insurance equal to the guaranteed cash value at the end of the policy year, with any portion of the dividend not required for this purpose being applied under one of the other dividend options.
NOTE: It is suggested here that if you have a participating whole life policy and at the time of purchase received a "dividend projection" of incredible future savings, ask for a current projection. Life insurance company's surpluses are not what they used to be.

Dividend

Unlike dividends which are paid to company shareholders, participating insurance policy dividends are not based on the company's overall profits. Rather, they are determined by grouping policies by type and country of issue and looking at how each class contributes to the company's earnings and surplus.

Dividend Policy

This policy governs Canada Life's actions regarding distribution of dividends to policyholders. It's goal is to achieve a dividend distribution that is equitable and timely, and which gives full recognition of the need to ensure the ongoing solidity of the company. It also specifies that distribution to individual policyholders must be equitable between dividend classes and policyholder generations, and among policyholders within any class.

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