SHARK WATCHER

Today's word: SHARK WATCHERTheme for this fortnight: STOCKS        A firm that specializes in keeping a lookout for takeovers. Usually this means monitoring trading, keeping track of who's accumulating shares, and reporting noteworthy activity back to client...

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RAZOR BLADE MODEL

Today's word: RAZOR BLADE MODELTheme for this fortnight: STOCKS           When businesses sell dependent goods for different prices. The first part is sold cheaply, but the second part is much pricier. It's not unlike razors with replaceable blades. Often the razor is pretty cheap, but customers have to keep replacing the blade cartridges, and that cost adds u...

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SLEEPING BEAUTY

Today's word: SLEEPING BEAUTY Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS             A profitable company — usually a start-up — with impressive assets but bad management. These companies are great candidates for takeover...

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YO YO STOCK

Today's word: YO YO STOCKTheme for this fortnight: STOCKS              A stock that is considered volatile because the price of the stock goes up and down sporadically without a justified reason. Yo-yo stocks are considered a risky investment due to an investor's inability to gauge how the stock will perform....

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COOKIE JAR ACCOUNTING

Today's word: COOKIE JAR ACCOUNTING Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS              An accounting practice in which a company stores up funds during good times to dip into during bad times. Because it effectively misleads investors — making them think goals are being met even when the company is losing footing — this practice is forbidden by the SEC....

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ANKLE BITER

Today's word: ANKLE BITER Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS              Stock issues for one company whose total market value is less than $500 million. These stocks are labelled ankle biters because they are thought to be nibbling at larger market capitalization stocks with the hopes of surpassing those stocks. This type of stock has the potential to outperform stocks...

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BIG UGLIES

Today's word: BIG UGLIESTheme for this fortnight: STOCKS                Big, older companies, usually in "dirty" industrial sectors like mining or steel. Though they can be solid investments with good, steady returns, many investors ignore them for "cleaner," trendier stock...

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COCKROACH THEORY

Today's word: COCKROACH THEORY Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS              The theory that when a company reports bad news to the public, there's usually a lot more bad news behind the scenes that may come out later. It can also refer to industry-wide suspicions — if one subprime lender is going bankrupt (like New Century Financial was in 2007), other subprime lenders might have similar problems behind...

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PUKE POINT

Today's word: PUKE POINT  Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS               Puking, here refers to selling of an asset whose value is plummeting. The "puke point" is the point at which the investor can no longer stomach the losses, and decides to sell the asset because of its steeply falling pric...

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ANGELINA JOLIE STOCK INDEX

Today's word: ANGELINA JOLIE STOCK INDEX Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS            An index made up of a selection of stocks from companies associated with actress Angelina Jolie. Seen as one of the world's most influential celebrities, some analysts believe that companies connected with Jolie will outperform their competition.            The index was created by Fred Fuld...

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JENNIFER LOPEZ

Today's word: JENNIFER LOPEZ Theme for this fortnight: STOCKS An informal term that describes what happens when a security reaches a low, then gradually starts to go up again. On a graph, it looks like a curve at the bottom, which is why investors named it after the admirably round-bottomed singer. ...

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WEDDING PRESENTS FLOATER

Today's word: WEDDING PRESENTS FLOATERTheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                      A type of insurance that can be added to a renter's or homeowner's insurance policy to temporarily cover the value of the gifts a couple receives when they get married. The wedding presents floater is a short-term policy designed to cover the gifts while they are getting moved from the wedding...

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BLANKET CRIME POLICY

Today's word: BLANKET CRIME POLICY Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE            An insurance policy that provides coverage for all financial crimes that result in losses to a business. For example, a blanket crime policy covers employee theft, lost deposits, acceptance of counterfeit money and so forth. Blanket crime policies have become...

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BIRTHDAY RULE

Today's word: BIRTHDAY RULE Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE          When both parents work and have insurance plans that provide dependent coverage, which plan will provide coverage for the children? Under this coordination of benefits provision the birthday rule will provide coverage for dependents from the policy on the parent who has the earliest birthday in the year. For example, if the mother’s birthday...

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COBRA

Today's word: COBRA Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE COBRA--Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. A federal act making provision for the continuation of an employee's health insurance coverage, as well as the coverage for dependents, should the employee terminate his or her employment. This act is in effect whether or not the termination was voluntary. It applies to all employer-sponsored group health plans with...

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INSURANCE ARCHEOLOGY

Today's word: INSURANCE ARCHEOLOGYTheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE A process similar to an audit for researching internal and external sources to reconstruct and to document an organization’s history of insurance coverage. This is particularly important to assist with liability arising from past years or even decades, such as damage related to environmental liability et...

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TWINS INSURANCE

Today's word: TWINS INSURANCETheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                  Some people are scared of twins – specifically they are afraid of the extra cost that comes with having multiple children.                 There a few clauses to these Twins Insurance policies including the requirement to purchase the coverage before the pregnancy reaches...

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GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT

Today's word: GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNTTheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                   A reduced automobile insurance premium is sometimes granted to students with high scholastic achievement because some studies have indicated a relationship between good grades and safe driving. Car insurance companies in most states extend good student discounts to drivers who are under the age of 25 and...

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“A” RATE

Today's word: “A” RATE Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE             “A” rates are rates used by an insurer that are not statistically credible because adequate data does not exist for that particular coverage or class. Such rates are based on the experience and best judgment of the underwriter for each individual risk...

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CAT MODELLING

Today's word: CAT MODELLING Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                  CAT bonds refer to Catastrophe Bonds which are issued by an entity that deals with insurance. The securities may consist of any single or multiple sources of investment grade securities and, generally, pay a higher yield. However, the investor faces the risk of a lower return or even a total loss of investment...

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ALIEN ABDUCTION INSURANCE

Today's word: ALIEN ABDUCTION INSURANCETheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                                   A very famous insurance policy in the 1980s to 1990s in California. This policy guarantees payment to nominees in case the policy holder was abducted by aliens. 39 members from the Heaven’s Cult had in fact bought the insurance before they...

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UMPIRE

Today's word: UMPIRETheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                              This term actually resembles the “cricket umpire” and the functions are also similar. A person selected by two appraisers to help settle disputes in property insurance claims. The appraisers are chosen by the disputing company and claimant, and a decision of any two of the three is binding....

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LUST

Today's word: LUST Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE L.U.S.T. stands for Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. This is a federally established fund that is used to pay the costs associated with supervising and monitoring clean-ups from underground storage tanks that have leaked and that threaten the environment (contaminated ground water). The fund is also used to enforce mandated clean-ups and to pay the clean-up costs for abandoned...

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GOING BARE

Today's word: GOING BARETheme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                   “Going bare” is a slang term for practicing medicine in Florida without medical malpractice insurance. Under Florida law, physicians are required to carry medical insurance or otherwise demonstrate financial responsibility to cover potential claims for medical malpractice. Florida law imposes penalties against...

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ZOMBIE FUND

Today's word: ZOMBIE FUND Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE                It is a closed “with-profits” fund that no longer writes new businesses or policies. E.g. Pension funds. In the very near past pension funds were quite famous, in some cases like government service, the beneficiaries are still in existence. But the amounts repaid to investors by these funds are based on so complicated formulas...

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IMMACULATE CONCEPTION INSURANCE

Today's word: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION INSURANCE Theme for this fortnight: INSURANCE             In 2000, three sisters in Britain were concerned they would give birth to Christ. The insurance policy was meant to cover the costs of bringing up the child if one of the three sisters has a virgin birth. In fact, it was renewed many times between 2000 and 2006 until it stirred up controversy in the UK medi...

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ANUKTASHRUTA

ANUKTASHRUTA        FINATIX launches a new course of action called ANUKTASHRUTA to make all those myriad Finance terms more engrossing. The word 'ANUKTASHRUTA' means unseen and unheard in Sanskrit.       Keep visiting the Finatix blog and Finatix FB page daily for really weird, creepy, outlandish and never before heard terms in Finan...

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