Definition of Underground Economy

Underground Economy

Economic activity not observed by tax collectors and government statisticians.

Closed Economy

An economy in which imports and exports are very small relative to GDP and so are ignored in macroeconomic analysis. Contrast with open economy.

global economy

an economy characterized by the international
trade of goods and services, the international movement
of labor, and the international flows of capital and information

Open Economy

An economy which engages in a significant amount of trade. Contrast with closed economy.

Closed-end fund

An investment company that sells shares like any other corporation and usually does not
redeem its shares. A publicly traded fund sold on stock exchanges or over the counter that may trade above or
below its net asset value. Related: Open-end fund.

Closed-end mortgage

Mortgage against which no additional debt may be issued.

Global bonds

Bonds that are designed so as to qualify for immediate trading in any domestic capital market
and in the Euromarket.

Global fund

A mutual fund that can invest anywhere in the world, including the U.S.

Globalization

Tendency toward a worldwide investment environment, and the integration of national capital
markets.

globalization

a changeover in market focus from competition
among local or national suppliers to competition
among international suppliers

"Soft" Capital Rationing

capital rationing that under certain circumstances can be violated or even viewed
as made up of targets rather than absolute constraints.

Absolute Advantage

The ability to produce a good or service with fewer resources than competitors. See also comparative advantage.

Absolute priority

Rule in bankruptcy proceedings whereby senior creditors are required to be paid in full
before junior creditors receive any payment.

Absolute Right of Return

goods may be returned to the seller by the purchaser without restrictions.

Absorption costing

A method of costing in which all fixed and variable production costs are charged to products or services using an allocation base.

absorption costing

a cost accumulation and reporting
method that treats the costs of all manufacturing components
(direct material, direct labor, variable overhead, and
fixed overhead) as inventoriable or product costs; it is the
traditional approach to product costing; it must be used for
external financial statements and tax returns

Absorption costing

A methodology under which all manufacturing costs are assigned
to products, while all non-manufacturing costs are expensed in the current period.

Accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS)

Schedule of depreciation rates allowed for tax purposes.

Accounting insolvency

Total liabilities exceed total assets. A firm with a negative net worth is insolvent on
the books.

acid test ratio (also called the quick ratio)

The sum of cash, accounts receivable, and short-term marketable
investments (if any) is divided by
total current liabilities to compute this ratio. Suppose that the short-term
creditors were to pounce on a business and not agree to roll over the
debts owed to them by the business. In this rather extreme scenario, the
acid test ratio reveals whether its cash and near-cash assets are enough
to pay its short-term current liabilities. This ratio is an extreme test that
is not likely to be imposed on a business unless it is in financial straits.
This ratio is quite relevant when a business is in a liquidation situation
or bankruptcy proceedings.

activity

a repetitive action performed in fulfillment of business functions

activity analysis

the process of detailing the various repetitive actions that are performed in making a product or
providing a service, classifying them as value-added and
non-value-added, and devising ways of minimizing or eliminating
non-value-added activities

Activity-based budgeting

A method of budgeting that develops budgets based on expected activities and cost drivers – see also activity-based costing.

activity-based budgeting (ABB)

planning approach applying activity drivers to estimate the levels and costs of activities necessary to provide the budgeted quantity and
quality of production

Activity-based costing

A method of costing that uses cost pools to accumulate the cost of significant business activities and then assigns the costs from the cost pools to products or services based on cost drivers.

activity based costing (ABC)

A relatively new method advocated for the
allocation of indirect costs. The key idea is to classify indirect costs,
many of which are fixed in amount for a period of time, into separate
activities and to develop a measure for each activity called a cost driver.
The products or other functions in the business that benefit from the
activity are allocated shares of the total indirect cost for the period based
on their usage as measured by the cost driver.

activity-based costing (ABC)

a process using multiple cost drivers to predict and allocate costs to products and services;
an accounting system collecting financial and operational
data on the basis of the underlying nature and extent
of business activities; an accounting information and
costing system that identifies the various activities performed
in an organization, collects costs on the basis of
the underlying nature and extent of those activities, and
assigns costs to products and services based on consumption
of those activities by the products and services

Activity-based costing (ABC)

A cost allocation system that compiles costs and assigns
them to activities based on relevant activity drivers. The cost of these activities can
then be charged to products or customers to arrive at a much more relevant allocation
of costs than was previously the case.

activity-based management (ABM)

a discipline that focuses on the activities incurred during the production/performance process as the way to improve the value received
by a customer and the resulting profit achieved by providing
this value

activity center

a segment of the production or service
process for which management wants to separately report
the costs of the activities performed

activity driver

a measure of the demands on activities and,
thus, the resources consumed by products and services;
often indicates an activity’s output

Additional paid-in capital

Amounts in excess of the par value or stated value that have been paid by the public to acquire stock in the company; synonymous with capital in excess of par.

Additional paid-in capital

Any payment received from investors for stock that exceeds
the par value of the stock.

additional paid-in capital

Difference between issue price and par value of stock. Also called capital surplus.

After-tax profit margin

The ratio of net income to net sales.

After-tax real rate of return

Money after-tax rate of return minus the inflation rate.

Aggressive Capitalization Policies

capitalizing and reporting as assets significant portions of
expenditures, the realization of which require unduly optimistic assumptions.

Aggressive Cost Capitalization

Cost capitalization that stretches the flexibility within generally
accepted accounting principles beyond its intended limits, resulting in reporting as assets
items that more reasonably should have been expensed. The purpose of this activity is likely to
alter financial results and financial position in order to create a potentially misleading impression
of a firm's business performance or financial position.

Allocation base A measure of activity or volume such as labour

hours, machine hours or volume of production
used to apportion overheads to products and
services.

Asset activity ratios

Ratios that measure how effectively the firm is managing its assets.

Asymmetric information

information that is known to some people but not to other people.

Asymmetric taxes

A situation wherein participants in a transaction have different net tax rates.

authorized share capital

Maximum number of shares that the company is permitted to issue, as specified in the firm’s articles of incorporation.

Average cost of capital

A firm's required payout to the bondholders and to the stockholders expressed as a
percentage of capital contributed to the firm. Average cost of capital is computed by dividing the total
required cost of capital by the total amount of contributed capital.

Average Propensity to Consume

Ratio of consumption to disposable income. See also marginal propensity to consume.

Average Propensity to Save

Ratio of saving to disposable income. See also marginal propensity to save.

Average tax rate

taxes as a fraction of income; total taxes divided by total taxable income.

average tax rate

Total taxes owed divided by total income.

Balance of Merchandise Trade

The difference between exports and imports of goods.

Balance of trade

Net flow of goods (exports minus imports) between countries.

Balance of Trade

See balance of merchandise trade.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

An international bank headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, which
serves as a forum for monetary cooperation among several European central banks, the Bank of Japan, and the
U.S. Federal Reserve System. Founded in 1930 to handle the German payment of World War I reparations, it
now monitors and collects data on international banking activity and promulgates rules concerning
international bank regulation.

BARRA's performance analysis (PERFAN)

A method developed by BARRA, a consulting firm in
Berkeley, Calif. It is commonly used by institutional investors applying performance attribution analysis to
evaluate their money managers' performances.

Basket trades

Related: Program trades.

Before-tax profit margin

The ratio of net income before taxes to net sales.

Block trade

A large trading order, defined on the New York Stock Exchange as an order that consists of
10,000 shares of a given stock or a total market value of $200,000 or more.

Break-even analysis

An analysis of the level of sales at which a project would make zero profit.

break-even analysis

analysis of the level of sales at which the company breaks even.

Break-Even Analysis

An analytical technique for studying the relationships between fixed cost, variable cost, and profits. A breakeven chart graphically depicts the nature of breakeven analysis. The breakeven point represents the volume of sales at which total costs equal total revenues (that is, profits equal zero).

Break-even tax rate

The tax rate at which a party to a prospective transaction is indifferent between entering
into and not entering into the transaction.

business-value-added activity

an activity that is necessary for the operation of the business but for which a customer would not want to pay

Buy on opening

To buy at the beginning of a trading session at a price within the opening range.

Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA)

An association of most of the life and health insurance companies in Canada that conducts research and compiles information about the life and health insurance industry in Canada.

Capital

Money invested in a firm.

CAPITAL

The money, raised by selling stock or bonds or taking out loans, that you use to start, operate, and grow a business.

Capital

The shareholders’ investment in the business; the difference between the assets and liabilities
of a business.

capital

A very broad term rooted in Economic theory and referring to
money and other assets that are invested in a business or other venture
for the general purpose of earning a profit, or a return on the investment.
Generally speaking, the sources of capital for a business are
divided between debt and equity. Debt, as you know, is borrowed money
on which interest is paid. Equity is the broad term for the ownership
capital invested in a business and is most often called owners’ equity.
Owners’ equity arises from two quite different sources: (1) money or
other assets invested in the business by its owners and (2) profit earned
by the business that is retained and not distributed to its owners (called
retained earnings).

Capital

The investment by a company’s owners in a business, plus the impact of any
accumulated gains or losses.

Capital

a) Physical capital: buildings, equipment, and any materials used to produce other goods and services in the future rather than being consumed today.
b) Financial capital: funds available for acquiring real capital.
c) Human capital: the value of the education and experience that make people more productive.

Capital

Expenditures Purchases of productive long-lived assets, in particular, items of property,
plant, and equipment.

Capital

Any asset or stock of assets, financial or physical, capable of producing income.

Capital account

Net result of public and private international investment and lending activities.

Capital Account

That part of the balance of payments accounts that records demands for and supplies of a currency arising from purchases or sales of assets.

Capital allocation

decision Allocation of invested funds between risk-free assets versus the risky portfolio.

capital asset

an asset used to generate revenues or cost savings
by providing production, distribution, or service capabilities
for more than one year

Capital asset

A fixed asset, something that is expected to have long-term usage within
a company, and which exceeds a minimum dollar amount (known as the capitalization
limit, or cap limit).

Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)

An Economic theory that describes the relationship between risk and
expected return, and serves as a model for the pricing of risky securities. The CAPM asserts that the only risk
that is priced by rational investors is systematic risk, because that risk cannot be eliminated by diversification.
The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio is equal to the rate on a risk-free security
plus a risk premium.

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

A model for estimating equilibrium rates of return and values of
assets in financial markets; uses beta as a measure of asset risk
relative to market risk

capital asset pricing model (CAPM)

Theory of the relationship between risk and return which states that the expected risk
premium on any security equals its beta times the market risk premium.

Capital budget

A firm's set of planned capital expenditures.

capital budget

management’s plan for investments in longterm
property, plant, and equipment

capital budget

List of planned investment projects.

Capital budgeting

The process of choosing the firm's long-term capital assets.

capital budgeting

Refers generally to analysis procedures for ranking
investments, given a limited amount of total capital that has to be allocated
among the various capital investment opportunities of a business.
The term sometimes is used interchangeably with the analysis techniques
themselves, such as calculating present value, net present value,
and the internal rate of return of investments.

Capital Budgeting

The process of ranking and selecting investment alternatives and
capital expenditures

capital budgeting

a process of evaluating an entity’s proposed
long-range projects or courses of future activity for
the purpose of allocating limited resources to desirable
projects

Capital budgeting

The series of steps one follows when justifying the decision to purchase
an asset, usually including an analysis of costs and related benefits, which
should include a discounted cash flow analysis of the stream of all future cash flows
resulting from the purchase of the asset.

capital budgeting decision

Decision as to which real assets the firm should acquire.

Capital Consumption Allowance

See depreciation.

Capital Cost Allowance (CCA)

The annual depreciation expense allowed by the Canadian Income tax Act.

Capital employed

The total of debt and equity, i.e. the total funds in the business.

Capital expenditures

Amount used during a particular period to acquire or improve long-term assets such as
property, plant or equipment.

capital expenditures

Refers to investments by a business in long-term
operating assets, including land and buildings, heavy machinery and
equipment, vehicles, tools, and other Economic resources used in the
operations of a business. The term capital is used to emphasize that
these are relatively large amounts and that a business has to raise capital
for these expenditures from debt and equity sources.

Capital flight

The transfer of capital abroad in response to fears of political risk.

Capital Flows

Purchase by foreigners of our assets (capital inflows) or our purchase of foreign assets (capital outflows).

Capital gain

When a stock is sold for a profit, it's the difference between the net sales price of securities and
their net cost, or original basis. If a stock is sold below cost, the difference is a capital loss.

Capital gain

The gain recognized on the sale of a capital item (fixed asset), calculated
by subtracting its sale price from its original purchase price (less the impact of any
associated depreciation).

Capital Gain

An increase in the value of an asset.

capital gain

The positive difference between the adjusted cost base of an investment held as a capital property and the proceeds of disposition you receive when you sell it. When you sell such an investment for more than you paid, you realize a capital gain.

Capital gains yield

The price change portion of a stock's return.

CAPITAL IN EXCESS OF PAR VALUE

What a company collected when it sold stock for more than the par value per share.

Capital in excess par

Amounts in excess of the par value or stated value that have been paid by the public to acquire stock in the company; synonymous with additional paid-in capital.

capital investment analysis

Refers to various techniques and procedures
used to determine or to analyze future returns from an investment
of capital in order to evaluate the capital recovery pattern and the
periodic earnings from the investment. The two basic tools for capital
investment analysis are (1) spreadsheet models (which I strongly prefer)
and (2) mathematical equations for calculating the present value or
internal rate of return of an investment. Mathematical methods suffer
from a lack of information that the decision maker ought to consider. A
spreadsheet model supplies all the needed information and has other
advantages as well.

Capital Investments

Money used to purchase fixed assets for a business, such as land, buildings, or machinery. Also, money invested in a business on the understanding that it will be used to purchase permanent assets rather than to cover day-to-day operating expenses.

Capital lease

A lease obligation that has to be capitalized on the balance sheet.

Capital lease

A lease in which the lessee obtains some ownership rights over the asset
involved in the transaction, resulting in the recording of the asset as company property
on its general ledger.

Capital Lease

One where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership are transferred to the lessee. It must be reflected on the company's balance sheet as an asset and corresponding liability.

Capital loss

The difference between the net cost of a security and the net sale price, if that security is sold at a loss.

capital loss

The negative difference between the adjusted cost base of an investment held as a capital property and the proceeds of disposition you receive when you sell it. When you sell such an investment for less than you paid, you incur a capital loss.

Capital market

The market for trading long-term debt instruments (those that mature in more than one year).

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