Kevin Smith – Page 165 – Stocktrak Learn

The Human Resources department at a business is in charge of everything from hiring and firing employees, organizing and implementing training programs, resolving internal conflicts, determining the pay scales, and everything in between. Human Resources Role The Human Resources department is concerned with the specific employees of the company, rather than sales, marketing, or product Read More…

Once you file your income taxes, the IRS will review all the forms you submit, and either issue your return or refund, usually with very little turnaround time. However, occasionally the IRS will ask you to provide some supporting documentation before your return is accepted. The Basics of an Audit An “Audit” is what happens Read More…

Everyone loves getting tax breaks, but what can really ruin your finances in the long-run is forgetting about tax additions – extra taxes and fees that you need to add on to your tax bill. Missing these extra taxes will hurt – taxpayers are currently charged 6% APR on all outstanding tax balances. This means Read More…

Clearly no two products are exactly alike and therefore each merits a unique marketing strategy. However, certain products carry similar characteristics in terms of price level, similarity between competing brands, and the way consumers approach them in the buying process. It is often useful to group these similar products into categories in order to help Read More…

One of the most crucial aspects of developing a marketing strategy is determining an approach to pricing. A company could have a great product and a fantastic promotion campaign, but could still fail if the price isn’t right for customers. On one hand, high prices could repel value-seeking consumers and could result in poor sales Read More…

Revenue vs Gains Revenue and Gains are related fields related to the income a company receives. The main difference between them is the source of the income. Revenue Revenue represents income earned by the firm through the primary goods and/or services provided. It is the income earned from the firm’s operating activities. For example, Mike’s Read More…

Professional accountants are vital to our economy and society. Accountants ensure the effective use of resources by recommending ways to reduce cost, increase revenue, and mitigate risk. The accountancy profession is only as good as the quality of service provided by its members. The regulatory environment of the accounting industry seeks to ensure the quality Read More…

What Is Sales Tax? “Sales Tax” is a tax that is charged on goods sold to end customers. The Sales Tax is a set percentage of the price of the goods sold. In the United States, all states except Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon charge a sales tax, but the sales tax will Read More…

Humans and animals have standard life cycles—a series of stages of living that each passes through before death. For people, these phases could include infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and retirement. Products also move through a series of phases throughout the duration of their lives called the “product life cycle”. The four stages included in the Read More…

When holding a job, there are usually certain people that have specific “titles” that describe the work that they do. With those titles, comes the chain of command, which can be looked at as a flow chart: The CEO –> who oversees Management –> who oversees Associates. These managers organize and coordinate the activities of Read More…

Every firm needs capital to purchase assets like inventory, land, and equipment. They also need cash to help manage expenses such as paying employees. How do companies raise the money they need to run their businesses? The answer is through a mix of liabilities (borrowing money) and equity (selling shares of ownership of the company). Read More…

Marketing is a cornerstone in the success of any organization. However, successful marketing is not as wide spread in large part due to the lack of a marketing strategy and marketing plan. To ensure marketing is successful for an organization, companies need to compose long-term marketing strategies promoting their goals with specific actions. A short Read More…

Short Term Financing “Short Term” financing means taking out a loan to make a purchase, usually with the loan term at less than a year. There are many different types of short-term financing, the most common of which are “Buy Now, Pay Later”, “Unsecured Personal Loans”, and “Payday Loans”. Short Term Financing VS Credit Cards Read More…

Facets of Assets How much is someone worth? One way to think about it could be to add up assets, or everything a person owns that holds financial value. First, think of everyday items like cash, a car, a computer, and perhaps money stored in a savings or investment account. However, there are some less Read More…

Most the taxes paid are through paychecks, so a large part of payroll accounting is properly accounting for all taxes. Most people are familiar with their annual personal tax return, but payroll tax filing works a bit differently. Payroll is run weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or even semi-monthly, so for each pay cycle, taxes need to Read More…

A company, just like any person, needs to be able to raise extra funds for itself to build new plants, buy inventory, etc. But a firm, unlike a person, has many more options to choose from when it comes to borrowing money. People either get a loan from a bank, or use a credit card, Read More…

One of the first challenges auditors and regulators faced when developing the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) was trying to standardize how companies account for their revenues and expenses. Before GAAP, companies had (more or less) free reign on how and when revenue and expenses were reported, leading to general confusion when trying to compare Read More…

“Slow and Steady” does not always win the race. The business world is very fast paced, competitive, and often a ruthless world where the one who stays ahead of the game is more likely to emerge victorious. “Competitive Advantage” is what businesses have that puts them ahead of the competition. What is competitive advantage? Competitive Read More…

What are the objectives of financial statements? How can accountants best meet these objectives? These are the very questions that the Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) set out to address in 1976 when they began developing the conceptual framework. FASB’s goal was to identify the objectives and concepts that govern the preparation and presentation of Read More…

More students than ever are interested in a career in accounting. So, where do you begin? What do you need in order to become a successful accountant? How can you market yourself in the accounting world to stand out among employers? This is a broad overview of what you can do now, and what it Read More…

A key first step for any entrepreneur is setting up an organization that will be used to formally embark on the business journey, but many new business owners struggle to identify the best way to move forward. These are the most common ways to organize a business, from the simplest through the most complex. 1. Read More…

When a company starts to grow, one of the biggest questions they face is how to organize their management. The two main branches of management roles are centralized and decentralized authority. Companies usually fall somewhere between these extremes. Centralized Management Centralized management is the organizational structure where a small handful of individuals make most of Read More…

An Introduction to Equity The Basic Accounting Equation says that Assets – Liabilities = Equity Equity (stockholders’ equity, owners’ equity, etc.) is the claim shareholders of a company have on assets once the liabilities have been satisfied. Equity on the Balance Sheet There are five critical entries on a balance sheet related to equity: retained Read More…

What are Credit Cards? Credit cards is a form of unsecured credit (meaning a loan without collateral) that you can use to make everyday purchases. All credit card purchases are made using a loan – you borrow money from your credit card issuer, and later pay it back with interest. Credit Cards Vs Debit Cards Read More…

Before Debit Cards Before the 21st century, if you wanted to buy groceries or visit the mall, you had 4 options that you could use to pay, all of which had their own drawbacks: Cash, checks, credit cards, and short-term financing. Cash is always reliable to make a purchase, but is prone to being lost Read More…

Every year or two, most of us go to the doctor’s office to receive a check-up on the state of our physical health. The doctor typically checks several measurements (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) in order to gauge how our health has progressed over the past year. They can then use their results to determine Read More…

Beginners trying to tackle their personal finances for the first time see debt as sort of a “boogeyman”, a specter that looms overhead, trying to trap people into inescapable cycles of minimum payments and late fees. Or at the very least, something to be avoided whenever possible. Deep down, we all know this is not Read More…

Automatic Payments – Blessing Or Curse? That title may be a bit hyperbolic – Automatic Bill Payments can be a huge time saver, and do help make sure your bills get paid on time (avoiding late fees and general headaches). This does come at a price, though – when your bills are automatically paid, you Read More…

When learning about managing your finances, many experts will recommend you begin with a budget. A budget is a tool that tracks income and expenses, and it allow you to set goals and make plans for the future. Developing a budget for a specific project, for a special event, or to help you with your Read More…

Your parents probably have experience reconciling their checkbook by comparing your own written records with their bank statements. In today’s world, reconciling your checkbook isn’t a common activity for two reasons: Paper checks probably only account for a small amount of your total expenses per month You probably have an automatic record with your bank’s Read More…

When you are getting your financial records organized, it is important to keep track of your spending, and with your spending comes receipts. If you think about a typical shopping trip, it is easy to accumulate several receipts quickly as you shop at different stores, stop for a bite to eat, and fill up your Read More…

See the full listing of available corporate and treasury bonds available on our platform!

On your Instructor Administration page, you can view all of your student information. This tutorial walks through what each of these pages have, in detail. Student Accounts This is the first tab on your report, with some basic information on your students: This report will show you all of your student usernames and passwords, along Read More…

V-S-E is the World’s #1 Free Global Stock Market Game, with stocks, currencies, and commodities from over 30 different countries around the world. Our trading platform is used by over 20,000 teachers and 200,000 students every year to learn about personal finance, investing, economics, mathematics, and social studies. Our site also includes an expansive Learn Read More…

See our collection of personal finance, economics, investing, savings, business, math, and social studies lesson plans to kick start your class. Includes over 50 lesson plans ranging across every grade level, with suggested class activities and ways to integrate the stock game and other learning resources, both for in-class activities and homework.

There are over 600 articles, videos, and calculators in the Personal Finance Lab Learn Center. However, we have selected the best 100 for use in personal finance classes, with integration with the Pfinlab Assignments feature.

Simulator Spot Trading Spots are very easy to trade (if your contest allows it). Simply choose the action like you would with a stock, select the quantity and the spot you wish to trade from the dropdown from the [link name=”spots” dest=”/trading/spots”]Spots trading page[/link]. Trading Details There are a few things to note with spot Read More…

Trading Bonds If they are allowed in your contest, you can use the [link name=”bonds” dest=”/trading/bonds”]Bonds Trading Page[/link]. Simply select the bond you want to buy or sell, how much you want to buy, and trade! Notes for trading bonds: All bonds, corporate and treasury, that we support are in one master list. We only Read More…

Trading Options If options trading is allowed in your contest, you can use the [link name=”option” dest=”/trading/options”]Options trading page[/link]. Trading options on your simulator is easy but there a few differences between the real world and a simulator. To trade options start by going to the Make a trade => trade options tab. Simple or Read More…

Trading Future Options acts like trading a normal option, but replacing the underlying stock with an underlying future. If your class or contest allows it, you can trade them from the [link url=”/trading/futureoptions” desc=”taradre”]Future Options Trading Page[/link]. Trading Pit Parts of the trading pit: Action – Only “Buy” and “Sell” is available for future options Read More…

Stock Trak – Week 1 Assignment You are a portfolio manager at a private bank and have recently been assigned three new Naples based clients. Martha is 30 years old. She is a single parent and recently inherited a large sum of money. She is looking to buy a home in three years or less, Read More…

Future Options are exactly what their name implies – an option on a futures contract. Futures and Options – Related Derivatives Futures and options are both derivatives – meaning a security whose value solely depends on the value of the underlying asset. A future derives its value from the commodities or currencies which it represents Read More…

If your contest allows trading futures, you can find them on the [link name=”future” dest=”/trading/futures”]Futures trading page[/link]. Action: Here you can select: Buy, sell, short, cover just as you would for stocks. Quantity: Enter the quantity desired of options contracts. Remember even with 1 futures contract you can have huge exposure depending on the contract Read More…

Symbol Month Margin Multiplier Description Exchange Indices Z. HMUZ 5500 10 Dow Jones CBOT ES HMUZ 3850 50 e-Mini S&P 500 (Globex) CME ND HMUZ 12100 100 Nasdaq 100 CME NIY HMUZ 3400 5 NIKKEI 225/Yen CME NQ HMUZ 2420 20 e-Mini Nasdaq 100(Globex) CME TR HMUZ 5280 100 Russell 2000 Mini Index ICE SP Read More…

Grains Contract Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Wheat 08/31 11/30 02/28 04/28 06/30 Corn 08/31 11/30 02/28 04/28 06/30 Soybeans 08/31 10/31 12/30 02/28 04/28 06/30 07/31 Soybean Meal 08/31 09/30 11/30 12/30 02/28 04/28 06/30 06/29 Soybean Oil 08/31 09/30 11/30 12/30 02/28 04/28 06/30 07/31 Oats Read More…

There is an infinite number of strategies that can be used with the aid of options that cannot be done with simply owning or shorting the stock. These strategies allow you select any number of pros and cons depending on your strategy. For example, if you think the price of the stock is not likely Read More…

A straddle is an investment strategy that involves the purchase or sale of an option allowing the investor to profit regardless of the direction of movement of the underlying asset, usually a stock. There are two straddle strategies, a long straddle and a short straddle. How to create a Long Straddle position A long straddle Read More…

You can find the underlying stock price, along with the option strike price, expiration date, and whether it was a “Put” or “Call” right from the option symbol! AAPL1504L85 is the way we write our options and can differ from other websites or brokerages. Our options are written: Symbol Year Day (Call or Put and Read More…

When trading mutual funds on this system, there are a few differences to keep in mind compared to trading stocks. Trading Tip 1: Quantity = Dollars! Unlike stocks, where you specify the number of shares you want to purchase, with Mutual Funds you specify how many dollar’s worth a mutual fund you want to buy. Read More…

STOCK-TRAK Simulation Preliminary Report STEPS: 1. Complete a four-page description of your investment plans using the topics below as an outline (20 + 5 points) Summarize your Strategy, filling in the blocks on this page (5 points; 3 + 2 for forecasts) Staple #2 on #1 and turn in complete report & $2.00/teammate Due Read More…

Texas A&M University-Kingsville College of Business Administration Fall 2016 Course Syllabus Investments FIN 4331 COURSE INFORMATION Credit hours: 3 Prerequisites: Business Finance (FINC 2331) Web-Orientation (and explanation): Face-to-face course, with grade book and various resources online Location/Times: BUSA 104 / 12:00 – 12:50 p.m. M/W/F COURSE INSTRUCTOR Thomas (Tom) Krueger Professor of Finance, Read More…

Bus 410 – Financial Markets Voluntary Extra Credit Project: Simulation Portfolio Management -Stock Selection and Security Trading Fall 2016 This is an optional project for extra credit to be applied to the “Total Grade” earned . Students who participate in this project according to the project guidelines will receive a 5% extra credit allocation towards Read More…

Options Spreads are option trading strategies which make use of combinations of buying and selling call and put options of the same or varying strike prices and expiration dates to achieve specific objectives (hedging, arbitrage, etc.). Option spreads are complex trades, but you can place two “legs” simultaneously using this trading platform. Trading Option Spreads To Read More…

By kidseconposters.com Companies issue stock to raise money to finance business operations. Stock represents ownership in a company. Thus, if you are a stockholder, you own part of a company. A stock certificate shows how many shares you own.

By kidseconposters.com For individuals, saving is the part of one’s income that is not spent. People often place their savings in banks and credit unions, which in turn lend the money to businesses and other individuals. Sometimes people use their savings to purchase financial securities, such as stocks or bonds. It is important to save Read More…

By kidseconposters.com Investing in capital goods occurs when businesses purchase capital goods in order to increase the productivity of workers. This investment always involves some risk.

By kidseconposters.com Financial institutions encourage people to save by offering interest on savings. They loan these savings to businesses and consumers. Banks compete with one another to attract savers and borrowers. The goal of the bank, like any business, is to make a profit.

By kidseconposters.com People often put their savings into financial investments like stocks, bonds, or certificates of deposit. Some of these are more risky — but have the potential of a much better rate of return — than less risky investments. Research the financial investments below. Rate each according to risk and return — with 10 Read More…

These activities are designed specifically to cater towards younger students using the stock game

Teaching a personal finance class? We have some great class ideas on how to integrate the portfolio simulation and educational content with your classes!

To create your contest, log in as an administrator (if you’re seeing this page, you probably already have), and find your Administrator menu at the top left of the page: Video Tutorial This video tutorial walks through each challenge rule, it is about 7 minutes long. Creation Form This is a description of everything you’ll Read More…

Assignments are a great way to manage your class’s activities around the simulation and this learn center, giving you the ability to track your student’s progress in trading, reading articles, and using our calculators. This will be a quick overview of what Assignments are, and how you can best make use of them in your Read More…

Johnson School of Business FIN3000 Personal Finance Project By Professor Anke Stugk, MBA astugk@hodges.edu A study of personal financial management including retirement planning; budgeting; individual taxation; consumer credit; investments such as stock, mutual funds, and annuities; insurance, and major expenses. Prerequisite: MAC1132 or permission of the faculty/program advisor, program chair, and dean. Personal Finance Semester Read More…

To be “In Debt” means to owe money to someone else, usually making fixed payments to pay back the amount over time, plus interest. Debt means different things to different people – having some debt is perfectly healthy for your personal finances, but too much can leave you buried. There is also a major difference Read More…

An “Investing Strategy” is a plan for how to save money to help it grow. Sometimes an “investing strategy” can just mean “plan for trading stocks”, but it really means a lot more. Liquidity, Risk, and Potential Returns All investments balance liquidity (how easily it can be converted into cash for other use), risk (the Read More…

What Is Credit? “Credit” is when you have the ability to use borrowed money. This can come in many different forms, from credit cards to mortgages. There is a wide range of ways to use credit, which means that it is often a challenge for beginners to learn all the different ins and outs of Read More…

3 Ways To Communicate Most changes to the site have a one-week turnaround period for integration, but we do have 3 quick that will improve the way you communicate with your users. These methods always be updated on any information your site would like to deliver – most clients usually use one or two methods, but Read More…

To create your contest, log in (if you’re seeing this page, you probably already have), and find your Contest Menu at the left of the page. Creation Form This is a description of everything you’ll see on that page, and how it impacts your contest: Trading Session Name: This is the name of your class, Read More…

When should someone start planning for retirement? Fidelity Investments recommends most young people try to save up 2x their annual salary by the time they turn 35, which is a pretty good benchmark to shoot for. Unfortunately, retirement is so far off the mind of most young people that they find their retirement account is Read More…

This guide will illustrate the different reporting tools instructors have at their disposal. The Reports page can be accessed under the Administration menu at the top of the page: At the bottom of all Reports pages, there is a button to connect directly with our support team for live support. Video Tutorial This video tutorial will Read More…

What is “Labor”? “Labor” is how much a person works. It is the use of time and exertion of effort to produce something of value. Generally speaking, the more valuable a person’s labor is, the higher their wage. Skilled And Unskilled Labor Each person starts off as an Unskilled Worker, meaning they do not have Read More…

“Unemployment” is a major economic indicator measuring how much of the working population is currently looking for a job. The unemployment rate is the most “tangible” economic indicator – if GDP is going up or down, it is harder for people to notice in their day-to-day lives. When the unemployment rate goes up, it usually Read More…

Definition “Price Controls” are artificial limits that are put on prices. If the limit is put in place to prevent prices from getting too high, they are called Ceilings. If they are in place to prevent the price from getting too low, they are called “Floors”. Price Ceilings Price Ceilings are controls put in place Read More…

What Are Interest Rates? Interest rates are growth rates – it is a percentage that is used to calculate how much a loan or investment grows over time. Interest rates are most commonly associated with borrowing money, like a homeowner taking out a mortgage or a government selling a bond. The interest rate is how Read More…

Definition Scarcity refers to the fact that resources are finite – people and organizations need to allocate their finite resources between their infinite wants. Each year, the world produces more goods and services, along with better technologies and processes that can increase output farther. Even with this growth, there will always be scarcity, because there Read More…

Definition “Specialization” is when a labor force begins to divide total production, leading to a rise of experts or specialists. This is called the Division of Labor, and it typically results in much higher productivity of labor. How Does It Work? Specialization has two main parts – Division of Labor, and a rise of Experts. Read More…

Definition “Opportunity Cost” is what needs to be given up to get something. This is different from an item’s price. Imagine you want to buy some stock for your virtual portfolio – you can afford one share of either Apple () or Alphabet, Inc. (). Your Opportunity Cost of buying one is that you cannot also Read More…

Everyone knows about costs and benefits of doing something – the pros and cons of making a choice. Marginal benefit and marginal cost are different – they look more closely at doing slightly more or less of different alternatives. Marginal costs and benefits are extremely important to producers when choosing their inputs and prices. [gtranslate] Read More…

What is Competition? “Competition” is when many producers try to sell similar goods to the same set of consumers. The producers need to “compete” to try to attract more consumers, usually by lowering prices, offering better versions of the goods or services, or through marketing. Competition is the core concept of the Market Economy. Why Read More…

What Is The Business Cycle? The Business Cycle is the broad, over-stretching cycle of expansion and recession in an economy. The Business Cycle is concerned with many things – unemployment, industrial expansion, inflation rates, but the most important indicator is GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth. Below you can see a graph of the GDP growth Read More…

What does it mean to be an Entrepreneur? An Entrepreneur is someone who takes a risk to start a new business. Nearly every business that exists (apart those created as spin-offs of other businesses, or by government intervention) was started by one or several entrepreneurs, who took a risk to launch a new company. Who becomes Read More…

Definition Economic Incentives includes anything that pushes people, businesses, and governments to do one thing or another. This includes what products you buy, what career you choose, what products businesses produce, and what government programs are put in place. Incentives for Individuals Each individual faces many economic incentives every day. If you are in school, Read More…

Definition In Economics, an “Externality” is a benefit or cost that is not reflected in the price of a good or service. Why do Externalities Exist? Prices are determined by the relationship between the supply and demand of a good or service (for details, see our article on Supply and Demand Examples in the Stock Read More…

What is Economic Growth? Economic Growth means that the economy is growing – more goods and services are being produced and consumed than they were before. The most common measurement of economic growth is the Gross Domestic Product (or GDP), which measures the total number of finished goods and services produced in an economy in Read More…

Definition A “Contract” is a legally binding agreement between two parties (people, companies, or both). Having a contract means that if one party does not keep their word, the other can sue them in court to either force them to fulfill their side of the agreement, or pay back compensation. What Makes A Contract Binding? Read More…

Definition “Economics” is often called the Dismal Science – it studies the trade-offs between making choices. The purpose of economics is to look at the different incentives, assets, and choices facing people, businesses, schools, and governments, and see if there is any way to improve outcomes. This is done by looking at how supply and Read More…

Have you ever wanted to start a business? Maybe you want to know the difference between a lemonade stand and Minute-Maid, besides just the size of the companies. Different types of companies have different levels of liability (meaning level of responsibility) for the owner or owners. What this means is that the more liability an owner has, Read More…

Investing101 Final Exam

6-11 Chapter 6 Exam Below is a basic quote for US Steel (Ticker symbol: X) from July 2021, along with the financial statements from the years ending in December 2020 and December 2019 (so you have two years of data to compare). Many of the questions in this exam will reference these financial statements.