Financial Terms: Salaries, Expenses, Accounting, and Business Structures
Income and Compensation
- Salary: Money paid monthly by an employer.
- Wages: Money paid by the day or the hour, usually received weekly.
- Overtime: Money received for working extra hours.
- Commission: Money paid to salespeople and agents – a certain percentage of the income the employee generates.
- Bonus: Extra money given for meeting a target or for good financial results.
- Fees: Money paid to professional people such as lawyers and architects.
- Social Security: Money paid by the government to unemployed and
Stalin’s Dictatorship, WWI Aftermath, and the Great Depression
Stalin’s Dictatorship
Stalin exercised a true dictatorship in which the Communist Party controlled all organs of state. His leadership was reinforced by the cult of personality that was given to the person. Anyone suspected of opposing Stalin was charged as an enemy of socialism. In Moscow, the major processes of a violent police apparatus purged dissidents, and many of them were executed, imprisoned, or deported to labor camps.
The Consequences of World War I
The United States benefited greatly from
Read MoreUnderstanding Key Financial Terms and Statements for Businesses
Key Financial Terms and Statements
Heritage
Heritage is the representation of all goods and rights that a company has to do its business, as well as payment obligations it has with others. It is formed by what the company has and what it expects to charge, minus what the company owes. Net worth is the residual part of the assets of a company after deducting all its liabilities, in addition to the contributions of partners or owners and the cumulative results from earlier periods. Assets are the sum
Read MoreCentral Bank Influence: Monetary Policy and Its Effects
How Central Banks Influence the Money Supply
When a central bank (CB) grants a loan to a bank, the banking system has more reserves, and these additional reserves allow it to create more money. The CB can alter the money supply by changing the discount rate. An increase in the discount rate discourages banks from borrowing reserves from the CB. Therefore, a rise in the discount rate reduces the number of reserves in the banking system, which, in turn, reduces the money supply. However, a reduction
Read MoreUnderstanding the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Trade
Understanding the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Trade
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It is composed of approximately 150 member governments, representing 95% of international trade. The WTO’s supreme decision-making body is called the General Council. The principle of decision-making is crucial: to adopt only agreements to which all member countries agree. There is no voting; decisions are taken by consensus. This measure, although democratic,
Read MorePeak Oil Impact: Market Analysis & Alternatives
Practice 2
The Hubbert peak theory suggests global oil production will peak and then decline as rapidly as it grew. The debate centers on whether peak oil will occur, and when, with some predicting it in 2010 and others in 2100. This will have serious consequences for developing countries that rely heavily on cheap and plentiful oil.
Economists argue that shortages will motivate the search for new discoveries, increasing reserves beyond Hubbert’s predictions. Natural gas, another fossil