During a semi-structured interview, your interviewer will not strictly follow a formalized list of questions. Instead, they will ask more open-ended questions. Learn more about how semi-structured interviews work and how to prepare for one. What Is a Semi-Structured Interview? In this type of interview, the interviewer may prepare a list of questions but won’t necessarily ask them all, or touch on them in any particular order. Instead, interviewers will use these questions to guide the conversation....

For example, an internet retailer might not collect sales tax from a purchase you made online. But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for paying taxes. You could still be subject to use tax for that purchase, subject to your state and local tax laws. Use tax can also potentially apply to in-state purchases where the seller does not collect sales tax on something that you’ll be using or storing in that state....

With no intervention, the value of one country’s currency will naturally change in relation to another’s. Depending on many economic and socio-political factors, these fluctuations can be large or small. ERMs are any measures a country puts in place to try to control these changes. Exchange Rate Mechanism History Most currencies historically began on fixed ERMs, with their prices set to commodities like gold. In fact, the U.S. dollar was officially fixed to gold prices until 1976, when the government removed references to gold from official statutes....

For instance, a company like Apple tends to have a high credit rating and thus, relatively low yields. How Does Credit Analysis Work? In the investment world, credit analysis also often revolves around ratings from a company such as Fitch, Moody’s, or Standard & Poor’s. Generally, the higher the rating, the more likely the borrower is able to fulfill its obligations. This can apply to anything from rating a country’s creditworthiness as it relates to government debt securities to rating a specific company’s bonds....

The costs of licenses, permits, and other mandatory fees you pay to a government agency at any level are also subtracted from personal income to calculate disposable income, as are any withholdings for retirement savings that are mandated by a government, such as federal government employee contributions to the Basic Benefit Plan. For most people, taxes far and away represent the greatest component of the deducted amount. Alternate names: Disposable personal income, disposable earnings, after-tax income...

Definition and Examples of Dwelling Coverage The dwelling coverage of a home insurance policy helps pay to rebuild or replace a home following a covered loss. It also covers attached structures, such as a carport or garage, as well as home fixtures, such as permanently installed air-conditioning and heating units, electrical wiring, and plumbing. Dwelling coverage only covers your home’s structure and doesn’t cover personal property such as clothing and furniture, or detached structures such as a pool house or shed....

In an at-fault accident, whether with another driver or an inanimate object like a lamp pole, the accident was caused by your own error. Being negligent or at-fault in an accident makes you liable for the damages you caused. The personal liability portion of the insurance covers injuries that you cause to other people. The property damage portion covers damage to personal or public property caused by your vehicle. Personal injury and property damage insurance is fundamental coverage for all vehicle insurance policies....

You’ll need to pick the one that works best for you. Your insurance agent can tell you how much insurance you can buy for your cash value. Since you purchase a new policy with a single premium payment, you no longer have to make payments on your old policy, and your coverage is guaranteed for life. This can save you money each month. However, because your new policy has a smaller face value, your beneficiary receives less money when you pass away....

One way banks build relationships with customers is by offering them interest-rate discounts, waived fees, and other perks when they have multiple accounts with the institution. For example, if you currently have a deposit account with Citi, you can get access to special “relationship pricing” on mortgages, which includes an interest-rate discount or a closing-cost credit. If you have a linked checking and savings account with Chase, you can earn a higher “relationship rate” on your savings account balance....

The S&P Global credit rating is a credit score that describes the general creditworthiness of a company, city, or country that issues debt. S&P uses the score to rate how likely a company is to meet its financial obligations. The ratings are for informational purposes only and are opinions—they aren’t investment recommendations, nor do they predict the probability of default. S&P also rates the creditworthiness of individual bonds. There are several different types of bonds, all of which vary in their ratios of risk to return....

This happens when the SEC has questions about the company or has not received accurate information from the company. Trading suspensions can last for up to 10 business days. For example, the SEC ordered suspension of trading in shares of Sports Field Holdings between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, 2021, because the company had not completed required regulatory filings in over two years and did not respond to questions about its delinquency....

Some bond coupon payments are exempt from state or federal taxes, others are not. Tax-equivalent yield is a number that tells you how much a taxable bond needs to yield before taxes to provide an equal yield to a taxable bond. Because you’ll be comparing a taxed bond to a tax-exempt bond to determine tax-equivalent yield, you’ll need to factor in your personal income tax bracket. Afterall, that is how to calculate how much tax you’d be responsible for with a taxable bond....

“Sales” refers to the amount of money a company generates over a period of time by providing its products or services to customers. “Revenue” refers to the total income a company earns over a specific time period. Revenue includes total sales, but it also may include income generated through non-sales activities such as investments, sale of assets, and allowances. Understanding How Revenue and Sales Are Different Companies issue income statements that summarize how much revenue they earned over a specific time period, such as a quarter or a year....

Michael Hanson / Getty Images The face amount that someone applying for insurance can qualify for depends on several factors, including how much coverage they need, how much they can afford, and how much life insurance the company will extend to them (which could be limited by their age, health, or the amount of their existing life insurance coverage). In some circumstances, the face value amount and death benefit can differ; insurers frequently let you reduce the face value of your policy after it was issued, and in some cases, you can increase it....

In addition to buying coverage, you can also use the marketplace to learn whether you qualify for premium tax credits (to reduce your cost of health insurance) or government health programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid. All marketplace health insurance plans offer the same basic benefits, including doctor visits, hospitalization, and prescription drug coverage. A few extra benefits, such as adult dental and vision care, may be available on certain plans as well....

If one bond is yielding 5% and another is yielding 4%, the “spread” is one percentage point. Spreads are typically expressed in “basis points,” each of which is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Hence, a one-percentage-point spread is typically said to be 100 basis points. How Yield Spread Works Yield spreads are not fixed, of course. Because bond yields are always in motion, so too are spreads. The direction of the yield spread can increase, or “widen,” which means that the yield difference between two bonds or sectors is increasing....

So, when it comes to retirement savings, how much is enough? There may not be a definitive answer, but crunching some numbers can give you a ballpark idea. Here are some guidelines that can help shape your retirement planning. Conflicting Rules of Thumb Broadly speaking, there are two rules of thumb that people can use to establish rough retirement goals. Based on Income One of these rules suggests that you need to save enough money to live on 75% to 85% of your pre-retirement income....

How a QLAC Works A QLAC annuity allows you to defer the distribution of funds from employer retirement plans or traditional IRAs past age 72. You can turn those funds into a guaranteed income stream for the rest of your life that can be started as late as age 85. You don’t have to defer it for that long, but you can. More importantly, the money in a QLAC is not considered as part of your RMD calculation when you turn 72....

However, sometimes the amounts written on a check do not match. For example, what if a check shows a numeric value of “$100,” but the handwritten amount reads “ten dollars”? Here’s what to do in such cases. Words Prevail Over Numbers When the amount of a check is unclear, the written words are considered to be the correct amount. Numbers written out with words are clearer; you still know how much the check is for, even if you can’t make out half of the letters....

Currency Hedging Explained The best way to understand currency hedging is to look at an example. Say a fund manager wants to invest $1 million in U.S. dollars to buy bonds issued by the Canadian government, but she has a negative outlook on the Canadian dollar. The portfolio manager can buy the bonds and protect against losses by placing a “hedge” against the Canadian currency by buying an investment that moves in the opposite direction of the Canadian dollar....