Discuss Economics & Finance

Dilution and Earnings Per Share: Financial Terms and Explanations

barry econ — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:24:36 +0000

Continuing a discussion on the introductory article on financial terms and explanations, this article discussion common share dilution. Firstly, some background for EPS, let's use a firm's Net Income (NI), in this case on a per-share basis. The formula to derive this figure would be: Earnings per share (EPS) = NI / # of common [...]

RRSP Tax Benefits and Hints - Get Ready to Buy

barry econ — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:01:08 +0000

RRSP Tips and Benefits Now is the time to buy buy buy into some respectable mutual funds (or perhaps stocks if you have guts). The market is all time lows, which means folks who have money can invest into quality companies at 1/2 to 1/3 of the price. Here are some tips as the end of [...]

Financial Statements - Terms and Explanations

barry econ — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:32:18 +0000

Definitions on Income Statements Here is a brief synopsis of key financial terms for introductory finance majors and business folks regarding income statements and balance sheets. Firstly, defining some terms: Income Statement : A statement measuring a firm's financial performance over a period of time. Generally, it records revenues and expenses to derive income over a specified [...]

Consumer Confidence is a Finicky Thing

barry econ — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:10:10 +0000

Consumer confidence is one of those things in the economy that makes the whole 'science' of economics a crap shoot. Although you can measure interest rates, velocity of money, and so on, you can't measure with certainty the temperature of the consumer. Since consumer buy the goods and services that drive the economy, it goes [...]

Explaining Clearing Drains and Currency Drains

barry econ — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:06:01 +0000

Here is a brief explanation on the nature of clearing drains and currency drains. The applications include part of how banks lend and settle account between each other. Put yourself into a context of the major banks and how they move their money between each other and the central bank (the Federal Reserve if you [...]

Free List of Cash Flow Analysis Articles

barry econ — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:55:31 +0000

NPV, IRR, Cash Flow, and Project Evaluation Tools and Methods We have written a few key articles on the area of cash flow analysis here at DiscussEconomics. This article will give you a quick summary of each article and correlating link for easy review of each topic. Feel free to book mark and link to this [...]

Introductory Microeconomics Cost Formulas

barry econ — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:50:15 +0000

Here is a list of some of the basic microeconomics formulas pertaining to revenues and costs of a firm. Remember when you're using these formulas there are a variety of assumptions, namely, that the the firm is profit-maximizing (making as much money as they can.) Here are the basic formulas (work out your own algebra to [...]

Why Can’t the Government Buy It’s Own Bonds?

barry econ — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:39:41 +0000

Not that they can't, but why would it be bad policy to raise government revenues by issuing bonds that are then sold to the monetary authority? Here are some thoughts in relation to a fixed exchange system and a floating exchange rate system. There is an inherent problem with financing government deficit spending by issuing domestic [...]

The Role of Bank Managers in the World Financial Crisis

barry econ — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:26:15 +0000

DiscussEconomics is happy to welcome Tamara Todorova, Associate Professor of Economics, at the American University in Bulgaria. Here is her article. The Role of Bank Managers in the World Financial Crisis In the havoc of the world financial crisis various explanations are provided in an attempt to try to curb it and avoid similar crises in the [...]

Capital Flight and Slowing Exports - Revaluation

barry econ — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:32:15 +0000

Q. What kind of policies would policy makers Central Bank (CB) consider with: an exchange rate system with a "fixed E system", high export growth, a rise in inflow of capital in the past few years, a problem emerging with growth of exports are slowing down and most profitable opportunities are getting exhausted. Oh yea, [...]

Obama Wins - Markets Say?!

barry econ — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:06:18 +0000

What will the markets do, progressive and current leader in power in the US, the world will change, the economy? Still crappy, but slowly improving??? Tomorrow will tell.

Current Account and Devaluation of Currency

barry econ — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:30:23 +0000

Q. Why/How may a drastic fall in the current account lead to a devaluation of a currency under a fixed exchange rate system? A. A drastic fall in the CA may lead domestic policy makers to move for expansion of domestic output in an attempt to increase exports or have positive affects on the CA. The domestic [...]

Project Evaluation - Sensitivity Analysis (Cash Flow)

barry econ — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:01:27 +0000

This post continues a discussion about cash flow, net present value, interest rates and NPV, and IRR, which you can read by clicking on the specific links. This post deals with the topic of project evaluation. The main methods used for project evaluation are the NPV method and the IRR method. According to them, an investment [...]

Top Five Analyses to Evaluate Cash Flow

barry econ — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:39:13 +0000

Five Cash Flow Analysis Tools This post continues a discussion about cash flow, net present value, interest rates and NPV, and IRR, which you can read by clicking on the specific links. This post deals with the topic of using these tools for conduction cash flow analysis. The methods of evaluating the opportunity of an investment project [...]

Internal Rate of Return, Cash Flow, and NPV

barry econ — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:08:36 +0000

Calculating and Interpreting Internal Rate of Return (IRR) This post continues a discussion about cash flow, net present value, and interest rates and NPV, which you can read by clicking on the specific links. This post deals with the topic of internal rate of return. IRR is an indicator of the efficiency or quality of an investment, [...]