Definition of SIC

SIC

Abbreviation for Standard Industrial Classification. Each 4-digit code represents a unique business activity.
Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm.

Basic balance

In a balance of payments, the basic balance is the net balance of the combination of the current
account and the capital account.

Basic business strategies

Key strategies a firm intends to pursue in carrying out its business plan.

Basic IRR rule

Accept the project if IRR is greater than the discount rate; reject the project is lower than the
discount rate.

Intrinsic value of an option

The amount by which an option is in-the-money. An option which is not in-themoney
has no intrinsic value. Related: in-the-money.

Intrinsic value of a firm

The present value of a firm's expected future net cash flows discounted by the
required rate of return.

Options on physicals

Interest rate options written on fixed-income securities, as opposed to those written on
interest rate futures contracts.

basic earnings per share (EPS)

This important ratio equals the net
income for a period (usually one year) divided by the number capital
stock shares issued by a business corporation. This ratio is so important
for publicly owned business corporations that it is included in the daily
stock trading tables published by the Wall Street Journal, the New York
Times, and other major newspapers. Despite being a rather straightforward
concept, there are several technical problems in calculating
earnings per share. Actually, two EPS ratios are needed for many businesses—
basic EPS, which uses the actual number of capital shares outstanding,
and diluted EPS, which takes into account additional shares of
stock that may be issued for stock options granted by a business and
other stock shares that a business is obligated to issue in the future.
Also, many businesses report not one but two net income figures—one
before extraordinary gains and losses were recorded in the period and a
second after deducting these nonrecurring gains and losses. Many business
corporations issue more than one class of capital stock, which
makes the calculation of their earnings per share even more complicated.

Basic Earnings Power Ratio

Percentage of earnings relative to total assets; indication of how
effectively assets are used to generate earnings. It is calculated by
dividing earnings before interest and taxes by the book value of all
assets.

physical measurement allocation

a method of allocating a joint cost to products that uses a common physical characteristic as the proration base

Classical Macroeconomics

The school of macroeconomic thought prior to the rise of Keynesianism.

New Classicals

Economists who, like classical economists, believe that wages and prices are sufficiently flexible to solve the unemployment problem without help from government policy.

Sick Pay

A fixed amount of pay benefit available to employees who cannot
work due to sickness. Company policy fixes the amount of this benefit that can
be carried forward into future periods.

Physical inventory

A manual count of the on-hand inventory.

Actuals

The physical commodity underlying a futures contract. Cash commodity, physical.

Bearer bond

Bonds that are not registered on the books of the issuer. Such bonds are held in physical form by
the owner, who receives interest payments by physically detaching coupons from the bond certificate and
delivering them to the paying agent.

Cash commodity

The actual physical commodity, as distinguished from a futures contract.

Circle

Underwriters, actual or potential, often seek out and "circle" investor interest in a new issue before
final pricing. The customer circled basically made a commitment to purchase the issue if it comes at an
agreed-upon price. In the latter case, if the price is other than that stipulated, the customer supposedly has first
offer at the actual price.

Commodity

A commodity is food, metal, or another physical substance that investors buy or sell, usually via
futures contracts.

Discounted dividend model (DDM)

A formula to estimate the intrinsic value of a firm by figuring the
present value of all expected future dividends.

Downgrade

A classic negative change in ratings for a stock, and or other rated security.

First notice day

The first day, varying by contracts and exchanges, on which notices of intent to deliver
actual financial instruments or physical commodities against futures are authorized.

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

The acquisition abroad of physical assets such as plant and equipment, with
operating control residing in the parent corporation.

Future

A term used to designate all contracts covering the sale of financial instruments or physical
commodities for future delivery on a commodity exchange.

Futures

A term used to designate all contracts covering the sale of financial instruments or physical
commodities for future delivery on a commodity exchange.

Futures option

An option on a futures contract. Related: options on physicals.

Inventory loan

A secured short-term loan to purchase inventory. The three basic forms are a blanket
inventory lien, a trust receipt, and field warehousing financing.

Last trading day

The final day under an exchange's rules during which trading may take place in a particular
futures or options contract. Contracts outstanding at the end of the last trading day must be settled by delivery
of underlying physical commodities or financial instruments, or by agreement for monetary settlement
depending upon futures contract specifications.

Non-reproducible assets

A tangible asset with unique physical properties, like a parcel of land, a mine, or a
work of art.

Open contracts

Contracts which have been bought or sold without the transaction having been completed by
subsequent sale or purchase, or by making or taking actual delivery of the financial instrument or physical
commodity.

Price-specie-flow mechanism

Adjustment mechanism under the classical gold standard whereby
disturbances in the price level in one country would be wholly or partly offset by a countervailing flow of
specie (gold coins) that would act to equalize prices across countries and automatically bring international
payments back in balance.

Reproducible assets

A tangible asset with physical properties that can be reproduced, such as a building or
machinery.

Round-turn

Procedure by which the Long or short position of an individual is offset by an opposite
transaction or by accepting or making delivery of the actual financial instrument or physical commodity.

Short hedge

The sale of a futures contract(s) to eliminate or lessen the possible decline in value ownership of
an approximately equal amount of the actual financial instrument or physical commodity.
Related: Long hedge.

Spot price

The current marketprice of the actual physical commodity. Also called cash price.

Tangible asset

An asset whose value depends on particular physical properties. These i nclude reproducible
assets such as buildings or machinery and non-reproducible assets such as land, a mine, or a work of art. Also
called real assets. Related: Intangible asset

Time premium

Also called time value, the amount by which the option price exceeds its intrinsic value. The
value of an option beyond its current exercise value representing the optionholder's control until expiration,
the risk of the underlying asset, and the riskless return.

Time value of an option

The portion of an option's premium that is based on the amount of time remaining
until the expiration date of the option contract, and that the underlying components that determine the value of
the option may change during that time. Time value is generally equal to the difference between the premium
and the intrinsic value. Related: in-the-money.

Transactions costs

The time, effort, and money necessary, including such things as commission fees and the
cost of physically moving the asset from seller to buyer. Related: Round-trip transaction costs, Information
costs, search costs.

Depreciation

A technique by which a company recovers the high cost of its plant-and-equipment assets gradually during the number of years they’ll be used in the business. Depreciation can be physical, technological, or both.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

In its most basic form, the rate of return equals net income divided by the amount of money invested. It can be applied to a particular product or piece of equipment, or to a business as a whole.

Intangible fixed assets

Non-physical assets, e.g. customer goodwill or intellectual property (patents and trademarks).

Tangible fixed assets

Physical assets that can be seen and touched, e.g. buildings, machinery, vehicles, computers etc.

Balance Sheet

One of the basic financial statements; it lists the assets, liabilities, and equity accounts of the company. The Balance Sheet is prepared using the balances at the end of a specific day.

Income Statement

One of the basic financial statements; it lists the revenue and expense accounts of the company.
The Income Statement is prepared for a given period of time.

Intangible assets

Assets owned by the company that do not possess physical substance; they usually take the form of rights and privileges such as patents, copyrights, and franchises.

Statement of Cash Flows

One of the basic financial statements; it lists the cash inflows and cash outflows of the company, grouped into the categories of operating activities, financing activities, and investing activities. The Statement of Cash Flows is prepared for a specified period of time.

Statement Retained Earnings

One of the basic financial statements; it takes the beginning balance of retained earnings and adds net income, then subtracts dividends. The Statement of Retained Earnings is prepared for a specified period of time.

accounting equation

An equation that reflects the two-sided nature of a
business entity, assets on the one side and the sources of assets on the
other side (assets = liabilities + owners’ equity). The assets of a business
entity are subject to two types of claims that arise from its two basic
sources of capital—liabilities and owners’ equity. The accounting equation
is the foundation for double-entry bookkeeping, which uses a
scheme for recording changes in these basic types of accounts as either
debits or credits such that the total of accounts with debit balances
equals the total of accounts with credit balances. The accounting equation
also serves as the framework for the statement of financial condition,
or balance sheet, which is one of the three fundamental financial
statements reported by a business.

capital investment analysis

Refers to various techniques and procedures
used to determine or to analyze future returns from an investment
of capital in order to evaluate the capital recovery pattern and the
periodic earnings from the investment. The two basic tools for capital
investment analysis are (1) spreadsheet models (which I strongly prefer)
and (2) mathematical equations for calculating the present value or
internal rate of return of an investment. Mathematical methods suffer
from a lack of information that the decision maker ought to consider. A
spreadsheet model supplies all the needed information and has other
advantages as well.

capital structure, or capitalization

Terms that refer to the combination of
capital sources that a business has tapped for investing in its assets—in
particular, the mix of its interest-bearing debt and its owners’ equity. In a
more sweeping sense, the terms also include appendages and other features
of the basic debt and equity instruments of a business. Such things
as stock options, stock warrants, and convertible features of preferred
stock and notes payable are included in the more inclusive sense of the
terms, as well as any debt-based and equity-based financial derivatives
issued by the business.

diluted earnings per share (EPS)

This measure of earnings per share
recognizes additional stock shares that may be issued in the future for
stock options and as may be required by other contracts a business has
entered into, such as convertible features in its debt securities and preferred
stock. Both basic earnings per share and, if applicable, diluted
earnings per share are reported by publicly owned business corporations.
Often the two EPS figures are not far apart, but in some cases the
gap is significant. Privately owned businesses do not have to report earnings
per share. See also basic earnings per share.

earnings per share (EPS)

See basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share.

equity

Refers to one of the two basic sources of capital for a business, the
other being debt (borrowed money). Most often, it is called owners’
equity because it refers to the capital used by a business that “belongs”
to the ownership interests in the business. Owners’ equity arises from
two quite distinct sources: capital invested by the owners in the business
and profit (net income) earned by the business that is not distributed to
its owners (called retained earnings). Owners’ equity in our highly developed
and sophisticated economic and legal system can be very complex—
involving stock options, financial derivatives of all kinds, different
classes of stock, convertible debt, and so on.

inventory shrinkage

A term describing the loss of products from inventory
due to shoplifting by customers, employee theft, damaged and
spoiled products that are thrown away, and errors in recording the purchase
and sale of products. A business should make a physical count and
inspection of its inventory to determine this loss.

owners' equity

Refers to the capital invested in a business by its shareowners
plus the profit earned by the business that has not been distributed
to its shareowners, which is called retained earnings. Owners’
equity is one of the two basic sources of capital for a business, the other
being borrowed money, or debt. The book value, or value reported in a
balance sheet for owners’ equity, is not the market value of the business.
Rather, the balance sheet value reflects the historical amounts of capital
invested in the business by the owners over the years plus the accumulation
of yearly profits that were not paid out to owners.

price/earnings ratio (price to earnings ratio, P/E ratio, PE ratio)

This key ratio equals the current market price
of a capital stock share divided by the earnings per share (EPS) for the
stock. The EPS used in this ratio may be the basic EPS for the stock or its
diluted EPS—you have to check to be sure about this. A low P/E may signal
an undervalued stock or may reflect a pessimistic forecast by
investors for the future earnings prospects of the business. A high P/E
may reveal an overvalued stock or reflect an optimistic forecast by
investors. The average P/E ratio for the stock market as a whole varies
considerably over time—from a low of about 8 to a high of about 30.
This is quite a range of variation, to say the least.

straight-line depreciation

This depreciation method allocates a uniform
amount of the cost of long-lived operating assets (fixed assets) to each
year of use. It is the basic alternative to the accelerated depreciation
method. When using the straight-line method, a business may estimate a
longer life for a fixed asset than when using the accelerated method
(though not necessarily in every case). Both methods are allowed for
income tax and under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

economic integration

the creation of multi-country markets
by developing transnational rules that reduce the fiscal and
physical barriers to trade as well as encourage greater economic
cooperation among countries

Internet business model

a model that involves
(1) few physical assets,
(2) little management hierarchy, and
(3) a direct pipeline to customers

mass customization

personalized production generally accomplished
through the use of flexible manufacturing systems;
it reflects an organization’s increase in product variety
from the same basic component elements

non-negativity constraint

a restriction in a linear programming
problem stating that negative values for physical
quantities cannot exist in a solution

organizational culture

the set of basic assumptions about
the organization and its goals and ways of doing business;
a system of shared values about what is important and
beliefs about how things get accomplished; it provides a
framework that organizes and directs employee behavior
at work; it describes an organization’s norms in internal
and external, as well as formal and informal, transactions

practical capacity

the physical production or service volume that a firm could achieve during normal working hours with consideration given to ongoing, expected operating interruptions

Binomial model

A method of pricing options or other equity derivatives in
which the probability over time of each possible price follows a binomial
distribution. The basic assumption is that prices can move to only two values
(one higher and one lower) over any short time period.

Intangible asset

A nonphysical asset with a life greater than one year. Examples are
goodwill, patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Capital

a) Physical capital: buildings, equipment, and any materials used to produce other goods and services in the future rather than being consumed today.
b) Financial capital: funds available for acquiring real capital.
c) Human capital: the value of the education and experience that make people more productive.

Capital Stock

The total amount of plant, equipment, and other physical capital.

Infrastructure

Basic facilities, such as transportation, communication, and legal systems, on which economic activity depends.

User Cost of Capital

The implicit annual cost of investing in physical capital, determined by things such as the interest rate, the rate of depreciation of the asset, and tax regulations. What would be paid to rent this capital if a rental market existed for it.

Inventory Shrinkage

A shortfall between inventory based on actual physical counts and inventory
based on book records. This shortfall may be due to such factors as theft, breakage, loss, or
poor recordkeeping.

LIFO Liquidation

A reduction in the physical quantity of an inventory that is accounted for
using the LIFO inventory method.

Earmarked material

Inventory that has been physically marked as being for a
specific purpose.

Periodic inventory

A physical inventory count taken on a repetitive basis.

Preferred Rates

As non-smoking rates caused a major reduction in the cost of life insurance in the early 1980's, the emergence of preferred non-smoker rates in 1998 has caused another noteworthy reduction in rates. A growing number of insurance companies are offering better rates which go beyond simply looking at gender or smoking habits. Other health related factors such as physical build, lifestyle, avocation and personal and family health history indicating longer life expectancy can add up to significant cost savings to new life insurance applicants. Make certain to ask about these new preferred rates.

Replacement

This subject of replacement of existing policies is covered because sometimes existing life insurance policies are unnecessarily replaced with new coverage resulting in a loss of valuable benefits. If someone suggests replacing your existing coverage, insist on having a comparison disclosure statement completed.
The most important policies to examine in detail are those which were issued in Canada prior to December 2, 1982. If you have a policy of this vintage with a significant cash surrender value, you may want to consider keeping it. It has special tax advantages over policies issued after December 2, 1982.
Basically, the difference is this. The cash surrender value of a pre December, 1982 policy can be converted to an annuity in accordance with the settlement options in the policy and as a result, the tax on any policy gain can be spread over the duration of the annuity. Since only the interest element of the annuity payment will be taxed, there will be less of a tax impact on the annuitant. Policies issued after December 2, 1982 which have their cash surrender value annuitized trigger a disposition and the annuitant must pay tax on the total policy gain immediately. If you still decide to replace existing coverage, don't cancel what you have until the new coverage has been issued.

Split Dollar Life Insurance

The split dollar concept is usually associated with cash value life insurance where there is a death benefit and an accumulation of cash value. The basic premise is the sharing of the costs and benefits of a life insurance policy by two or more parties. Usually one party owns and pays for the insurance protection and the other owns and pays for the cash accumulation. There is no single way to structure a split dollar arrangement. The possible structures are limited only by the imagination of the parties involved.

Structured Settlement

Historically, damages paid out during settlement of personal physical injury cases were distributed in the form of a lump-sum cash payment to the plaintiff. This windfall was intended to provide for a lifetime of medical and income needs. The claimant or his/her family was then forced into the position of becoming the manager of a large sum of money.
In an effort to create a more financially stable arrangement for the claimant, the Structured Settlement was developed. A Structured Settlement is an alternative to a lump sum cash payment in the resolution of personal physical injury, wrongful death, or workers’ compensation cases. The settlement usually consists of two components: an up-front cash payment to provide for immediate needs and a series of future periodic payments which are funded by the defendant’s purchase of one or more annuity policies. Those payors make payments directly to the claimant. In the unfortunate event of the claimant’s death, a guaranteed portion of the settlement may be directed to a beneficiary or his/her estate.
A Structured Settlement is a guaranteed source of funds paid to the claimant or his/her family on a tax-free basis.

Temporary Life Insurance

Temporary insurance coverage is available at time of application for a life insurance policy if certain conditions are met. Normally, temporary coverage relates to free coverage while the insurance company which is underwriting the risk, goes through the process of deciding whether or not they will grant a contract of coverage. The qualifications for temporary coverage vary from insurance company to insurance company but generally applicants will qualify if they are between the ages of 18 and 65, have no knowledge or suspicions of ill health, have not been absent from work for more than 7 days within the prior 6 months because of sickness or injury and total coverage applied for from all sources does not exceed $500,000. Normally a cheque covering a minimum of one months premium is required to complete the conditions for this kind of coverage. The insurance company applies this deposit towards the cost of a policy at its issue date, which may be several weeks in the future.

Will

This is a legal document detailing how you want your assets to be distributed upon your death. You may also stipulate how you wish to be buried or who you would like to take care of any surviving dependent family members. In my opinion, it is very important to be quite specific about your wishes for the distribution of special assets such as the antique grandfather clock, the classic silver tea set or the antique piano. If you think that your beneficiaries may dispute how your things are to be distributed, consider stipulating that an auction be held in which all beneficiaries may bid on the item which they value and all moneys collected are then shared in the same manner in which you distributed your other liquid assets. Your might want to remember that a will is automatically revoked upon marriage unless the will specifically states that the will is made in contemplation of marriage.

Capital

Any asset or stock of assets, financial or physical, capable of producing income.

Disability

Inability to work due to injury or sickness.

Disability Insurance (Credit Insurance)

Group Insurance designed to cover monthly obligations due to a borrower being unable to work due to sickness or injury.

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