The Investopedia Team

The coefficient of variation (COV) is the ratio of the standard deviation of a data set to the expected mean. Investors use it to determine whether the expected return of the investment is worth the degree of volatility, or the […]

Bills of exchange are used in commerce, particularly international trade, by businesses and banks in countries as far-flung and diverse as the U.S., Morocco, and Australia. Think of a bill of exchange as an invoice presented in exchange for goods

Global Depositary Receipts vs. American Depositary Receipts: An Overview Depositary receipts are certificates that represent shares in a public company but are available only in a foreign market so that foreign investors can more easily invest in the companies they

Technically, a representative sample requires only whatever percentage of the statistical population is necessary to replicate as closely as possible the quality or characteristic being studied or analyzed. For example, in a population of 1,000 that is made up of

Transfer Price vs. Standard Cost: An Overview Accounting is a very important part of business. It is defined as the recording of financial information and transactions of a business or organization. This information is outlined in financial statements prepared by

The way individual retirement account (IRA) withdrawals are taxed depends on the type of IRA. For example, you’ll always pay taxes on traditional IRA withdrawals. However, with a Roth IRA, there is no tax due when you withdraw contributions or earnings,

What Is On-Balance Volume? On-balance volume (OBV), a momentum indicator that measures positive and negative volume flow, was developed by Joseph Granville and introduced in 1963 to the technical community inside the pages of his book, “Granville’s New Key to

Kickstarter makes money by taking 5% of the total amount of money that is funded on the site. It uses this money to turn a profit that pays for the costs of running the site, including advertisement and employee payment.

A margin account lets you leverage your buying power and buy more stocks than you could with your available cash by taking on a loan from your broker. The stocks purchased are then held as collateral by the brokerage firm. The

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the top three credit bureaus in the U.S. They are private businesses that collect and sell data on the spending and borrowing habits of individual consumers. The data is compiled into a credit report on