Debt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can cover other obligations. Personal finance is the application of the principles of Finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit Credit is the provision of resources (such as granting a Loan) by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately thereby generating A credit card is part of a system of Payments named after the small Plastic card issued to users of the system A credit union is a Cooperative Financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift providing credit A debit card (also known as a bank card) is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to Cash when making purchases Debt consolidation entails taking out one Loan to pay off many others A loan is a type of Debt. This article focuses exclusively on monetary loans although in practice any material object might be lent A moneylender offers small Personal loans at high rates of interest, usually higher rates than the market rate charged on Credit cards or on A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a Lender as a security for a Mortgage loan. A pawnbroker is an individual or business entity that offers monetary loans in exchange for an item of value to the given pawn broker A contract of employment is a category of Contract used in Labour law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain A salary is a form of periodic payment from an Employer to an Employee, which may be specified in an Employment contract. A wage is a compensation workers receive in exchange for their labor. An employee stock option is a Call option on the common stock of a company issued as a form of non-cash compensation. Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, perqs or Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely A retirement plan is an arrangement to provide people with an income or Pension, during Retirement, when they are no longer earning a steady income from employment An Individual Retirement Account (or IRA) is a Retirement plan account that provides some Tax advantages for Retirement savings in the United A pension is a steady income given to a person upon Retirement, typically in the form of a guaranteed annuity. Social security primarily refers to a Social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions including poverty old A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals the reasons why they are believed attainable and the plan for reaching those goals A corporate action is an event initiated by a Public company that affects the securities ( Equity or Debt) issued by the company A financial planner or personal financial planner is a practicing professional who helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning which includes A financial adviser is a professional who renders investment advice and Financial planning services to individuals and businesses Estate planning is the process of accumulating and disposing of an estate to maximize the goals of the estate owner The field of finance refers to the concepts of Time, Money and Risk and how they are interrelated In Economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell ( Trade) financial Securities (such as stocks and bonds There are two basic financial market participant categories Investor vs Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Personal finance is the application of the principles of Finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit Public finance is a field of economics concerned with paying for collective or governmental activities and with the administration and design of those activities A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Financial regulations are a form of Regulation or supervision which subjects Financial institutions to certain requirements restrictions and guidelines aiming to In Business and Accounting, assets are everything owned by a person or company (all tangible and intangible property that can be converted into cash. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned. Purchasing power is the amount of value of a good/services compared to the amount paid with a Currency. Some companies and corporations use debt as a part of their overall corporate finance strategy. Generally a company is a form of Business organization. The precise definition varies A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions
A debt is created when a creditor agrees to lend a sum of assets to a debtor. A creditor is a party (eg person organization company or government that has a claim to the services of a second party A loan is a type of Debt. This article focuses exclusively on monetary loans although in practice any material object might be lent In Economics a debtor is simply an entity that owes a Debt to someone else the entity could be an individual a firm a government or an organization In modern society, debt is usually granted with expected repayment; in many cases, plus interest. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets Historically, debt was responsible for the creation of indentured servants. An indentured servant is a form of Debt bondage worker The Laborer is under Contract of an Employer for some period of time usually three to
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Before a debt can be made, both the debtor and the creditor must agree on the manner in which the debt will be repaid, known as the standard of deferred payment. In Economics a debtor is simply an entity that owes a Debt to someone else the entity could be an individual a firm a government or an organization A creditor is a party (eg person organization company or government that has a claim to the services of a second party A standard of deferred payment is the accepted way in a given Market, to settle a Debt. This payment is usually denominated as a sum of money in units of currency, but can sometimes be denominated in terms of goods. A payment is the transfer of wealth from one party (such as a person or company to another Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Payment can be made in increments over a period of time, or all at once at the end of the loan agreement. For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of A loan agreement is a Contract entered into between which regulates the terms of a Loan.
A basic loan is the simplest form of debt. A loan is a type of Debt. This article focuses exclusively on monetary loans although in practice any material object might be lent It consists of an agreement to lend a principal sum for a fixed period of time, to be repaid by a certain date. For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of In commercial loans interest, calculated as a percentage of the principal sum per annum, will also have to be paid by that date. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning Year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages the accusative singular
In some loans, the amount actually loaned to the debtor is less than the principal sum to be repaid; the additional principal has the same economic effect as a higher interest rate (see point (mortgage)). A point, sometimes also called a " discount point " is one of the important factors in the calculation of the Annual percentage rate for a Mortgage
A syndicated loan is a loan that is granted to companies that wish to borrow more money than any single lender is prepared to risk in a single loan, usually many millions of dollars. A syndicated loan (or "syndicated bank facility" is a large Loan in which a group of banks provide funds for a borrower usually several but without joint liability In such a case, a syndicate of banks can each agree to put forward a portion of the principal sum.
A bond is a debt security issued by certain institutions such as companies and governments. In Finance, a bond is a Debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and Interest A security is a Fungible, Negotiable instrument representing financial value Generally a company is a form of Business organization. The precise definition varies For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A bond entitles the holder to repayment of the principal sum, plus interest. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets Bonds are issued to investors in a marketplace when an institution wishes to borrow money. Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in Business management, Finance and Economics, related to saving A marketplace is the space actual or metaphorical in which a Market operates Bonds have a fixed lifetime, usually a number of years; with long-term bonds, lasting over 30 years, being less common. A year (from Old English gēr) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the Orbit of the Earth around the Sun At the end of the bond's life the money should be repaid in full. Interest may be added to the end payment, or can be paid in regular installments (known as coupons) during the life of the bond. The coupon or coupon rate of a bond is the amount of interest paid per year expressed as a percentage of the face value of the bond Bonds may be traded in the bond markets, and are widely used as relatively safe investments in comparison to equity. The bond market (also known as the debt, credit, or fixed income market) is a Financial market where participants buy and sell Debt Software for Fixed assets management and Stock control developed in 2004.
In national accounting, debts are added according to those who are indebted. Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Working capital, also known as net working capital, is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business Cash conversion cycle or CCC is the time duration in which a firm is able to convert its resources into cash Return on invested capital (ROIC is a financial measure that quantifies how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business In Corporate finance, Economic Value Added or EVA® is an estimate of true economic profit after making corrective adjustments to GAAP accounting including Just-in-time ( JIT) is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the Return on investment of a Business by reducing in-process Inventory and Economic order quantity is that level of inventory that minimizes the total of inventory holding cost and ordering cost Discounts and allowances are reductions to a basic Price of goods or services Factoring is a word often misused synonymously with accounts receivable financing. Capital budgeting (or investment appraisal is the planning process used to determine whether a firm's long term Investments such as new machinery replacement machinery new Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Managerial finance is the branch of finance that concerns itself with the managerial significance of finance techniques Financial accountancy (or financial accounting) is the field of Accountancy concerned with the preparation of Financial statements for decision makers Management accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of Accounting information to managers within organizations to provide them with the basis to make informed business In Financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of a person's or organization's balances A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals the reasons why they are believed attainable and the plan for reaching those goals A corporate action is an event initiated by a Public company that affects the securities ( Equity or Debt) issued by the company The field of finance refers to the concepts of Time, Money and Risk and how they are interrelated In Economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell ( Trade) financial Securities (such as stocks and bonds There are two basic financial market participant categories Investor vs Corporate finance is an area of Finance dealing with the financial decisions Corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions Personal finance is the application of the principles of Finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit Public finance is a field of economics concerned with paying for collective or governmental activities and with the administration and design of those activities A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Financial regulations are a form of Regulation or supervision which subjects Financial institutions to certain requirements restrictions and guidelines aiming to Household debt is the debt held by households. "National" or Public debt is the debt held by the various governmental institutions (federal government, states, cities . . . ). Business debt is the debt held by businesses. Financial debt is the debt held by the financial sector (from one financial institution to another). Total debt is the sum of all those debts, excluding financial debt to prevent double accounting. These various types of debt can be computed in debt/GDP ratios. Those ratios help to assess the speed of variations in the indebtness and the size of the debt due. For example the USA have a high consumer debt and a low public debt, while in eastern European countries, for example, the opposite tends to be true.
There are differences in the accounting of debt for private and public agents. If a private agent promises to pay something later, it has a debt, and this debt is enforceable by public agents. If a public body passes a law stating that it'll pay something later (a kind of promise), it keeps the right to change the law later (and not to pay). This is why, for instance, the money governments promised to pay for retirements does not show up in the public debt assessment, whereas the money private companies promised to pay for retirements do.
Securitization occurs when a company groups together assets or receivables and sells them in units to the market through a trust. Securitization is a Structured finance process which involves pooling and repackaging of Cash flow producing financial Assets Any asset with a cashflow can be securitized. The cash flows from these receivables are used to pay the holders of these units. Companies often do this in order to remove these assets from their balance sheets and monetize an asset. Although these assets are "removed" from the balance sheet and are supposed to be the responsibility of the trust, that does not end the company's involvement. Often the company maintains a special interest in the trust which is called an "interest only strip" or "first loss piece". Any payments from the trust must be made to regular investors in precedence to this interest. This protects investors from a degree of risk, making the securitization more attractive. The aforementioned brings into question whether the assets are truly off-balance-sheet given the company's exposure to losses on this interest. Off balance sheet (OBS usually means an Asset or Debt or financing activity not on the company's Balance sheet.
As noted above, debt is normally denominated in a particular monetary currency, and so changes in the valuation of that currency can change the effective size of the debt. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is This can happen due to inflation or deflation, so it can happen even though the borrower and the lender are using the same currency. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time Deflation is the opposite of Inflation. Therefore under the usual contemporary definition of inflation 'deflation' means a decrease in the general price level. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Thus it is important to agree on standards of deferred payment in advance, so that a degree of fluctuation will also be agreed as acceptable. It is for instance common to agree to "US dollar denominated" debt. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
The form of debt involved in banking accounts for a large proportion of the money in most industrialised nations (see money and credit money for a discussion of this). A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. Credit money is any future claim against a physical or legal person that can be used for the purchase of goods and services There is therefore a complex relationship between inflation, deflation, the money supply, and debt. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time Deflation is the opposite of Inflation. Therefore under the usual contemporary definition of inflation 'deflation' means a decrease in the general price level. In Economics, money supply, or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an Economy at a particular point in time The store of value represented by the entire economy of the industrialized nation itself, and the state's ability to levy tax on it, acts to the foreign holder of debt as a guarantee of repayment, since industrial goods are in high demand in many places worldwide. To act as a store of value, a Commodity, a form of Money, or Financial capital must be able to be reliably saved stored and retrieved - and be predictably
Borrowing and repayment arrangements linked to inflation-indexed units of account are possible and are used in some countries. For example, the US government issues two types of inflation-indexed bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and I-bonds. Inflation-indexed bonds (also known as inflation-linked bonds or colloquially as linkers) are bonds where the principal is indexed to Inflation These are one of the safest forms of investment available, since the only major source of risk — that of inflation — is eliminated. In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time A number of other governments issue similar bonds, and some did so for many years before the US government.
In countries with consistently high inflation, ordinary borrowings at banks may also be inflation indexed.
Lendings to stable financial entities such as large companies or governments are often termed "risk free" or "low risk" and made at a so-called "risk-free interest rate". The risk-free interest rate is the Interest rate that it is assumed can be obtained by investing in Financial instruments with no Default risk The risk-free interest rate is the Interest rate that it is assumed can be obtained by investing in Financial instruments with no Default risk This is because the debt and interest are highly unlikely to be defaulted. A good example of such risk-free interest is a US Treasury security - it yields the minimum return available in economics, but investors have the comfort of the (almost) certain expectation that the US Treasury will not default on its debt instruments. Treasury securities are Government bonds issued by the United States Department of the Treasury through the Bureau of the Public Debt. A risk-free rate is also commonly used in setting floating interest rates, which are usually calculated as the risk-free interest rate plus a bonus to the creditor based on the creditworthiness of the debtor (in other words, the risk of him defaulting and the creditor losing the debt). In reality, no lending is truly risk free, but borrowers at the "risk free" rate are considered the least likely to default.
However, if the real value of a currency changes during the term of the debt, the purchasing power of the money repaid may vary considerably from that which was expected at the commencement of the loan. So from a practical investment point of view, there is still considerable risk attached to "risk free" or "low risk" lendings. The real value of the money may have changed due to inflation, or, in the case of a foreign investment, due to exchange rate fluctuations.
The Bank for International Settlements is an organisation of central banks that sets rules to define how much capital banks have to hold against the loans they give out. The Bank for International Settlements (or BIS) is an International organization of Central banks which "fosters international monetary and An organisation (or organization &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is the entity responsible for the Monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states
Specific bond debts owed by both governments and private corporations is rated by rating agencies, such as Moody's, Fitch Ratings Inc. A credit rating agency ( CRA) is a company that assigns Credit ratings for Issuers of certain types of Debt obligations as well as the debt instruments Moody's Corporation ( is the holding company for Moody's Investors Service which performs financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities , A. M. Best and Standard & Poor's. A M Best Company Inc, headquartered in Oldwick New Jersey, is Rating agency designated as an Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization Standard & Poor's ( S&P) is a division of McGraw-Hill that publishes financial research and analysison Stocks and bonds. The government or company itself will also be given its own separate rating. These agencies assess the ability of the debtor to honor his obligations and accordingly give him a credit rating. A credit rating assesses the Credit worthiness of an individual Corporation, or even a country Moody's uses the letters Aaa Aa A Baa Ba B Caa Ca C, where ratings Aa-Caa are qualified by numbers 1-3. Munich Re, for example, currently is rated Aa3 (as of 2004). Munich Re AG, in German Münchener Rück AG ( is the world's largest Reinsurance company with over 5000 customers in 160 countries "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " S&P and other rating agencies have slightly different systems using capital letters and +/- qualifiers.
A change in ratings can strongly affect a company, since its cost of refinancing depends on its creditworthiness. Refinancing refers to the replacement of an existing debt obligation with a debt obligation bearing different terms Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtor's non-payment of a Loan or other line of credit (either the principal or Interest (coupon or both Faced Bonds below Baa/BBB (Moody's/S&P) are considered junk- or high risk bonds. In Finance, a high yield bond ( non-investment grade bond, speculative grade bond or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below Their high risk of default (approximately 1. 6% for Ba) is compensated by higher interest payments. Bad Debt is a loan that can not (partially or fully) be repaid by the debtor. The debtor is said to default on his debt. In Finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met its legal obligations according to the debt contract e These types of debt are frequently repackaged and sold below face value. Buying junk bonds is seen as a risky but potentially profitable form of investment.
Short of bankruptcy, it is rare that debts are wholly or partially forgiven. Traditions in some cultures demand that this be done on a regular (often annual) basis, in order to prevent systemic inequities between groups in society, or anyone becoming a specialist in holding debt and coercing repayment. Under English law, when the creditor is deceived into forgoing payment, this is a crime: see Theft Act 1978. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment The Theft Act 1978 supplemented the earlier Deception offences in English law contained in sections 15 and 16 of the Theft Act 1968 by reforming some aspects of those
International Third World debt has reached the scale that many economists are convinced that debt cancellation is the only way to restore global equity in relations with the developing nations. Developing countries' debt is External debt incurred by the governments of Third World countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political This is an alphabetical list of notable Economists, that is experts in the social science of Economics. Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties
Debt allows people and organizations to do things that they would otherwise not be able, or allowed, to do. Commonly, people in industrialised nations use it to purchase houses, cars and many other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand. Companies also use debt in many ways to leverage the investment made in their assets, "leveraging" the return on their equity. Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in Business management, Finance and Economics, related to saving In Business and Accounting, assets are everything owned by a person or company (all tangible and intangible property that can be converted into cash. Software for Fixed assets management and Stock control developed in 2004. This leverage, the proportion of debt to equity, is considered important in determining the riskiness of an investment; the more debt per equity, the riskier. In Finance, leverage (or gearing) is using given resources in such a way that the potential positive or negative outcome is magnified and/or enhanced For both companies and individuals, this increased risk can lead to poor results, as the cost of servicing the debt can grow beyond the ability to pay due to either external events (income loss) or internal difficulties (poor management of resources).
Excesses in debt accumulation have been blamed for exacerbating economic problems. [1] For example, prior to the beginning of the Great Depression debt/GDP ratio was very high. Economic agents were heavily indebted. This excess of debt, equivalent to excessive expectations on future returns, accompanied asset bubbles on the stock markets. When expectations corrected, deflation and a credit crunch followed. A credit crunch is a sudden reduction in the general availability of Loans (or credit) or a sudden increase in the cost of obtaining loans from Banks Deflation effectively made debt more expensive and, as Fisher explained, this reinforced deflation again, because, in order to reduce their debt level, economic agents reduced their consumption and investment. Deflation is the opposite of Inflation. Therefore under the usual contemporary definition of inflation 'deflation' means a decrease in the general price level. In economics consumption is the primary motivating force in the wealth or utility maximizing paradigm The reduction in demand reduced business activity and caused further unemployment. In a more direct sense, more bankruptcies also occurred due both to increased debt cost caused by deflation and the reduced demand. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against
It is possible for some organizations to enter into alternative types of borrowing and repayment arrangements which will not result in bankruptcy. For example, companies can sometimes convert debt that they owe into equity in themselves. Software for Fixed assets management and Stock control developed in 2004. In this case, the creditor hopes to regain something equivalent to the debt and interest in the form of dividends and capital gains of the borrower. The "repayments" are therefore proportional to what the borrower earns and so can not in themselves cause bankruptcy. Once debt is converted in this way, it is no longer known as debt.
Some argue against debt as an instrument and institution, on a personal, family, social, corporate and governmental level. This article is about criticism of and arguments against Debt. Islam forbids lending with interest even today, while the Catholic church allowed it from 1822 onwards, and the Torah states that all debts should be erased every 7 years and every 50 years. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to
Debt will increase through time if it is not repaid faster than it grows through interest. This effect may be termed usury, while the term "usury" in other contexts refers only to an excessive rate of interest, in excess of a reasonable profit for the risk accepted. Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest" Risk is a Concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities
In international legal thought, Odious debt is debt that is incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the interest of the state. In International law, odious debt is a legal theory which holds that the national debt incurred by a Regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests Such debts are thus considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred them and not debts of the state.
Global debt underwriting grew 4. Debt is used to finance and pay for undertakings and business around the world 3% year-over-year to $5. 19 trillion during 2004. It is expected to rise in the coming years as the spending habits of millions of people worldwide continue the way they do.