Everyday Money
Order Received Is Not the Same Message as Order Executed
Submitting an investment order starts a process. A confirmation that a platform received the instruction does not necessarily mean that a trade has already…
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The Reading Desk
A Dividend Calendar Contains Different Kinds of Dates
A dividend announcement may list several dates that look similar in a diary but perform different jobs. Learning their labels is more useful than assuming…
Concepts in Focus
The Gap Between Bid and Ask Belongs in a Trading Example
A quote can show one price at which buyers are bidding and another at which sellers are asking. Treating those as a single interchangeable price hides the…
Concepts in Focus
More Shares After a Split Do Not Automatically Mean More Wealth
A stock split changes the number of shares used to represent an ownership interest. In a simplified proportional example, doubling the share count while…
Concepts in Focus
A Bond’s Face Value and Its Market Price Answer Different Questions
A bond example may display both a face value and a purchase price. They can differ, so a reader needs to know which amount is being used before following…
Everyday Money
A Cost-per-Use Estimate Depends on Uses That Have Not Happened Yet
Dividing a purchase price by a large number of future uses can make almost anything look inexpensive. A cost-per-use estimate is easier to judge when its…
Concepts in Focus
Markup and Margin Use Different Starting Points for the Same Sale
An item bought for eighty and sold for one hundred has a difference of twenty. Describing that difference as a percentage requires choosing a denominator,…
Concepts in Focus
Opportunity Cost Is About the Best Alternative You Give Up
A choice can have a cost even when no money changes hands. Opportunity cost gives a name to the value of the best alternative that the decision leaves…