What Is a Bequest? A bequest is a financial term describing the act of giving assets such as stocks, bonds, jewelry, and cash, to individuals or organizations, through the provisions of a will or an estate plan. Bequests can be made to family members, friends, institutions, or charities. When real estate is left through a
What Is Berkshire Hathaway? Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company for a multitude of businesses, including GEICO and Fruit of the Loom. It’s run by chair and CEO Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally, it was a company comprised of a group of textile milling plants. Buffett assumed control of the
The Berlin Stock Exchange (XBER): An Overview The Berlin Stock Exchange (XBER), also known as the Börse Berlin, is one of the oldest stock exchanges in Germany, founded in 1685. It operates two trading systems, Xontro and Equiduct. International investors use the XBER to trade in stocks, bonds, certificates, warrants, public funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
As Chair and CEO of LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA), a luxury goods holding company, Bernard Arnault (born 1949) controls approximately 50% of a massive conglomerate that owns over 70 of the top luxury brands in the world, including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Moët et Chandon, Hennessy, Sephora, and TAG Heuer. Arnault
Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff was an American financier who executed the largest Ponzi scheme in history, defrauding thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars over the course of at least 17 years, possibly longer. He was also a pioneer in electronic trading and chair of the Nasdaq in the early 1990s. He
What Is a Bespoke CDO? A bespoke CDO is a structured financial product—specifically, a collateralized debt obligation (CDO)—that a dealer creates for a specific group of investors and tailors to their needs. The investor group typically buys a single tranche of the bespoke CDO, and the remaining tranches are then held by the dealer, who
What Is a Best Efforts Mortgage Lock? A best efforts mortgage lock happens when the sale of a mortgage in the secondary mortgage market requires that the seller—usually a mortgage originator—makes their best effort to deliver the mortgage to the buyer. A mortgage originator can be either an institution or an individual that works with
What Is a Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)? A best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) is a course of action that a party engaged in negotiations has determined should be taken if talks fail and no agreement can be reached. Negotiation researchers Roger Fisher and William Ury coined the term BATNA in
What Is a Best and Final Offer? A best and final offer in real estate is a prospective buyer’s last and highest offer for a property. The best and final offer is typically submitted in response to a bidding war. A seller who has received several offers will ask all bidders or the top bidders
What Are Best Efforts? The term best efforts refers to an agreement made by a service provider to do whatever it takes to fulfill the requirements of a contract. In finance, an underwriter makes a best efforts or good faith promise to the issuer to sell as much of their securities offering as possible. While
