What is a Letter of Credit? A Letter of Credit (LC) can be thought of as a guarantee that is backstopped by the Financial Institution that issues it. One party is required to guarantee something to another party; typically, it’s payment, but not always – it could also be guaranteeing that some project will be…
What are Leadership Styles? Leadership styles refer to the behavioral approach employed by leaders to influence, motivate, and direct their followers. A leadership style determines how leaders implement plans and strategies to accomplish given objectives while accounting for stakeholder expectations and the wellbeing and soundness of their team. Leadership styles have been studied in various…
What is Trade Finance? Trade Finance is a broad term with many important sub-topics – all revolving around structuring transactions to de-risk as many elements as possible for the parties involved: sellers, buyers, and the finance community. Trade finance risks include (but are not limited to) payment risk, performance risk, and currency risk. Conducting business…
What is Performance Training? Performance training, also known as “Performance Based Learning (PBL)” is a strategy that trains employees to achieve their targeted performance goals and/or objectives. The personalized learning approach highlights the results to be achieved, enhancing and refining performance, and prioritizes practical, “hands-on” training over theory-based methods. In this framework, employees demonstrate the…
What is SWIFT? SWIFT is a vast and secure messaging system that allows banks and other financial institutions from all around the world to send and receive encrypted information, namely cross-border money transfer instructions. Based in Brussels, Belgium, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT for short, was founded in 1973 by 239…
What is the Win/Loss Ratio? The win/loss ratio, also known as the success ratio, is a ratio of the number of profitable trades to unprofitable trades over a specified time period. The win/loss ratio is a commonly used trading metric by traders to evaluate their stock-picking success. Formula for the Win/Loss Ratio To calculate the…
What is the Fed Put? The “Fed Put” is a commonly used term in financial markets to describe the belief that many market practitioners hold that the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) will step in with accommodative monetary policy to buoy markets, specifically the U.S. equity market, if prices fall too fast too quickly. Understanding…
What is the Consumer Confidence Index? Conducted by The Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) measures the degree of optimism of consumers regarding current and expected economic conditions. Understanding the Consumer Confidence Index The Consumer Confidence Index acts as a barometer of economic health by tracking how optimistic or pessimistic consumers are regarding (1)…
What is a Bag Holder? A bag holder is a financial slang used to describe an investor who holds on to poor-performing, or worthless, investments. Bag holders tend to stubbornly hold their losing investments for an extended period instead of cutting losses. Why Do Investors Become Bag Holders? One of the main reasons why investors…
