Learn the market cap definition, how it works, and how to use it to inform your investing decisions. What Is Market Capitalization? Put simply, stock market capitalization is the amount of money it would cost you to buy every single share of stock a company had issued at the current market price. This metric is useful for comparing the size of one company to another. There are also certain benefits and risks associated with investing in companies of certain sizes, so investors may want to focus on a particular company size, like large-cap companies, or diversify by having small-, mid-, and large-cap companies in their portfolio....

Median Salary Information for U.S. Workers According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median wage for workers in the United States in the second quarter of 2022 was about $1,041 per week or $54,132 per year (assuming 52 weeks of work per year). Wages were 5.2% higher than a year earlier. What’s considered a good salary in one job or metro area may not be in another. For example, workers in professional, management, and related occupations earned the highest pay....

If you or your spouse are covered under another plan, you may be wondering if you have to enroll, when you should, and which parts to enroll in. If you plan to enroll in Parts A and B (or already are), you may be wondering if and when you should get a Part D prescription drug plan, a Medigap policy, or if you should bundle your Medicare coverage in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C)....

How to Buy Should you buy mid-cap stocks or mutual funds? If you purchase individual stocks, you must research each firm to decide which are good picks. It requires time and expertise. The trade-off is that you might find something the stock analysts have overlooked. It’s much easier to select mid-cap mutual funds. These funds are led by managers who know the mid-cap business inside and out. You still have to research them, but that reduces your risk....

The timing of your IRA contributions can determine how much your retirement savings will grow over time and how much money you’ll have in retirement. So, it’s important to learn how early and late in life you can start socking money into your traditional and Roth IRA accounts. No Maximum Age Limit for IRA Contributions Traditional IRA: For a traditional IRA, as of Jan. 1, 2020, there is no maximum age at which you can make a contribution as long as you have sufficient taxable compensation to support the contribution amount....

The NY Fed poll, which covers people with jobs as well as those looking for work, shows workers continue to have leverage. The number of job openings was still at near record highs in February, and the average worker has been getting substantial pay raises (albeit not enough to keep up with inflation.) In fact, according to a separate survey by payroll company ADP, 70% of North American workers said they had considered a major career move at some point in the last year, including a temporary break, starting their own business, or changing industries, among other things....

Choosing the right share class depends on whether you need advice from an advisor or if you’re a do-it-yourself investor. How much of your investment dollars you want to spend on your fund management can also affect your choice. Class A Share Funds Class A mutual fund shares generally have front-end sales charges (also known as “loads”). The load, which is a charge to pay for the services of an investment advisor or other financial professional, is often 5% but can be higher....

Canceled Charge-Off In some circumstances, the creditor may decide to cancel the debt completely. When this happens, you no longer have a responsibility to pay the debt. While you may be relieved to be free from this obligation, you may not be in the clear yet. The canceled debt may now become an issue to hash out with the IRS. When creditors cancel debts, they are required to report the canceled amount (if it’s over $600) to the IRS using Form 1099-C cancellation of debt....

There is more going on with bonds than this simple scenario. Bonds can become premium or discount bonds. They could trade above or below their par value while bond traders attempt to make money trading these yet-to-mature bonds. A premium bond trades above its issue price. This is called its par value. A discount bond does the opposite. It trades below par value. Bonds Don’t Have a Fixed Price Bonds are issued with a “face value,” or “par value....

Specialist Insurance Market Lloyd’s bills itself as a “specialist insurance market” because each syndicate specializes in certain types of risks. One syndicate might focus on insuring ocean cargo while another concentrates on covering fine arts. Syndicates that write similar types of insurance often insure risks jointly. Each minimizes its potential liability for losses by assuming only a percentage of the risk. While Lloyd’s insures many run-of-the-mill business activities, it has a reputation for insuring unusual risks....

Here is the way to calculate opportunity cost, along with some ways it can be used to inform your investment decisions and more. What Is Opportunity Cost? Investors are always faced with options about how to invest their money to receive the highest or safest return. The investor’s opportunity cost represents the cost of a foregone alternative. If you choose one alternative over another, then the cost of choosing that alternative becomes your opportunity cost....

SDI Productions As of Tuesday, those who refinance mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will have an extra 0.5% tacked on if they are more than $125,000. That means someone with an average loan of $280,000 would have $1,400 added to their loan amount. Over 30 years, that translates to $6 a month, assuming a fixed interest rate of 2.9%. Refinancing—which often allows borrowers to lower the rate on an existing loan in exchange for fees—has boomed this year....

What Is a Point-of-Sale System? A POS may be a simple cash register, a single computer, or an integrated computer network with point-of-sale software. It may also be a mobile device like a laptop, tablet, phone, or specialized terminal that can be used remotely for online sales transactions. POS terminals may be either stationary units tied to a computer inside a brick-and-mortar business, a mobile unit like an iPad, or a unit for online transactions....

What Is Your Level of Short Sale Experience? If you ask this question, followed by clarification, the agent is more likely to answer you if the agent doesn’t hear an accusatory tone in your voice. You don’t want to make the agent defensive or adversarial. You can say, “I’m sure if you were buying this home, you’d want to know that the person responsible for the success of this short sale has experience obtaining approval over and over....

For instance, a hiring manager may not have the time to schedule interviews right away. Rather than extending the closing date on the posting, an organization’s human resources department might require hiring managers to repost and consider job applications from both postings. Other reasons for reposting could be because that after conducting a round of interviews, the hiring manager may have discovered that they need candidates with a slightly different skillset or perhaps the job duties or requirements have changed....

Wokephoto17 / Getty Images Homes in areas that were designated as undesirable for mortgage lending under the 20th-century practice known as redlining are not only more likely to have nonwhite owners, they also have substantially higher flood risk: $107 billion worth of homes in so-called redlined neighborhoods are at high risk of flooding, nearly 26% more than in neighborhoods that were considered desirable for lending, according to a Redfin analysis published Sunday....

Although you’re not obligated to vouch for your workers, it’s a nice gesture. If your employee has demonstrated a strong work ethic, excellent results, and has been a positive member of your team, then it’s appropriate to write a reference letter. What to Include in a Reference Letter The reference letter should include: In what capacity the employee worked for youHow long the employee was on the jobThe skills and attributes that will make the person a strong candidate for employmentWhy you’re endorsing the individualHow to contact you for follow-up questions...

Form 1099-A Form 1099-A is for the “Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property.” Homeowners who have been foreclosed upon might be surprised to find one of these turning up in their mailboxes after year’s end. It means that the loan you took out was secured by tangible or real property. You no longer have the property, either because the lender took it back or because you walked away from the obligation, such as by offering a deed in lieu of foreclosure....

Retailers are the consumer-facing part of the supply chain, and most people interact with them frequently. They come in all different, types, styles, and sizes. What Is a Retailer? Retailers typically buy goods from a manufacturer, wholesaler, or other distributor and then resell them to the public. Large retailers such as Walmart and Target purchase goods in huge volumes from manufacturers or wholesalers, but small, family-operated pharmacies or your local grocery store can buy from the same outlets or from smaller vendors....

Here’s a quick look at the most significant economic indicators of the day and what they tell us. Mortgage Applications Rising mortgage rates are proving a deterrent to borrowers. An index measuring the volume of mortgage applications declined 8.1% last week, largely because of a 14% drop in people looking to refinance their home loans, but also due to less interest from homebuyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. In the biggest weekly increase since March 2020, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 4....