What Is a Slush Fund? A slush fund is a sum of money that is set aside as a reserve. In accounting, a slush fund is a general ledger account of commingled funds that does not have a designated purpose. In more sinister cases, a slush fund may be used as a “black fund,” which is unaccounted
What Does Small Minus Big Mean? Small minus big (SMB) is one of the three factors in the Fama/French stock pricing model. Along with other factors, SMB is used to explain portfolio returns. This factor is also referred to as the “small firm effect,” or the “size effect,” where size is based on a company’s
What Are Small and Mid-size Enterprises (SMEs)? Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) are businesses that maintain revenues, assets or a number of employees below a certain threshold. Each country has its own definition of what constitutes a small and medium-sized enterprise. Certain size criteria must be met and occasionally the industry in which the company
What Is a Small Business Development Center (SBDC)? Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) provide free marketing, financing, and business-related assistance to local entrepreneurs. They are found in all states and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. SBDCs exist as a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and usually a local college
What Is the Silver Standard? The silver standard is a monetary system in which the value of a country’s national currency is backed by silver. It is similar in nature to its famous counterpart, the gold standard. The typical method for implementing a silver standard is to allow units of national currency to be converted
Who Was Simon Kuznets? Simon Kuznets, a Russian-American development economist and statistician, was awarded the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his research on economic growth. He set the standard for national income accounting, enabling accurate estimates of gross national product to be calculated for the first time. Key Takeaways Simon Kuznets, a Russian-American
What Is Simple Interest? Simple interest is an interest charge that borrowers pay lenders for a loan. It is calculated using the principal only and does not include compounding interest. Simple interest relates not just to certain loans. It’s also the type of interest that banks pay customers on their savings accounts. The formula to
What Is a Simple Interest Bi-Weekly Mortgage? A simple interest bi-weekly mortgage is a mortgage payment plan in which the lender applies the borrower’s payments immediately toward the remaining principal balance of the mortgage. This differs from a traditional bi-weekly plan, in which the servicer of the mortgage holds the first payment received during a month until
What Is a Simple Random Sample? A simple random sample is a subset of a statistical population in which each member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen. A simple random sample is meant to be an unbiased representation of a group. Key Takeaways A simple random sample takes a small, random
What Is a Sin Tax? A sin tax is and excise tax on specific goods and services due to their ability, or perception, to be harmful or costly to society. The tax comes at the time of purchase. Some items that often have a sin tax include tobacco products, alcohol, and gambling. Sin taxes seek to
