Free Cash Flow or FCF measures the financial performance of a company. It is calculated by subtracting the capital expenditures from the operating income. It is the cash that the company is able to generate after using the cash required to maintain or expand its asset base. This is an important figure as it shows the companies are able to pursue opportunities to enhance shareholder value. Without cash, a company cannot invest in new products, issue a dividend or reduce debt. This is an important tool in the valuation of a company.
College students for the longest time have been looking for alternatives to purchasing their books. Even new books become useless after a semester due to edition changes; students are left with no choice, but to keep the books. This year I decided to try something different, rather than purchase my books, I rented them. Chegg.com was the site that I kept hearing about over and over again. I had to see what the fuss was all about.
After taking a week to digest the release of the new Blackberry Application Store, App World, its sad to say that I am not impressed. App World is Blackberry’s answer to the highly popular Apple App Store that hopes to have the same success and bring together the crackberries of the world.
With nothing but bad news surrounding the U.S. automakers, it is hard to find any silver lining. Ford, unlike General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, is making the right moves to weather the economic downturn. Not only did Ford not take any stimulus from the government, but Ford has also reached an agreement with the United Auto Works (UAW) union that would slash cash payments to its retiree health care. GM and Chrysler have yet to reach such a deal with the UAW remaining their obligations to contribute to the health care fund. Ford today just announced that they have slashed their automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion. The debt reduction will save Ford an estimated $500 million in interest expense annually.
An option is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset. The assets can range from stocks to bonds in which the buyer has the right to purchase these assets at a certain price and date. There are two types of options:
Call: A call option gives the holder the right to buy an asset at a certain price within a specific time period.
Put: A put option gives the holder the right to sell the asset as a certain price within a specific time period.
BlackBerry users all over rejoice, as our time has come. BlackBerry’s much anticipated app store has been released to the public today. App World features applications from individual developers to large, well known, companies. You can get the download from your BlackBerry phone or from the BlackBerry website. Keep checking back for a full review of the App Store!
A basis point (BPS) is equal to 1/100th of 1% or .01. It is used to denote the change in a financial instrument. BPS is commonly used for calculating changes in interest rates, equity indexes and the yield of a fixed income security. You will see basis points mostly in mortgage and loan terms when a discount is being offered or a change in rates.
We would all love to have the opportunity to attend any Ivy League University, but unfortunately there are many barriers, such as finances, qualifications and other factors, that do not permit us such an education. With a new site from Youtube called Youtube Edu you can now watch lectures from top colleges, including Yale, MIT, Harvard…etc, for free. You can even go further by going to the respective school’s website and register for their opencourse classes. Theses courses provide all of the lectures and materials needed to take the class. For example, Yale’s site, OpenYale courses provide the lectures for select classes and their midterms so you can get the same educational experience as a Yale student.
Being a college student myself, I too live up to the saying of being a poor college student. There is no tool more crucial in academia and the professional world than Microsoft Office. With a price tag of up to 679.95, depending on the version, Microsoft has decided that students need a break by offering 91% off its most expensive Office suit- Ultimate. This not only includes the basics of Word, PowerPoint and Excel, but also Publisher, Access and Accounting Express. All you need is a valid .EDU address and $59.95. Go to Microsoft.com to get in on the action.
Finding a job in today’s economic environment has proven its challenges. With the jobless rates increasing throughout the country and the world, we have to utilize our tools and be creative in order to stand out of the crowd. Sites such as CareerFire are your answer to staying competitive.
