Hedge Accounting
What is 'Hedge Accounting' Hedge accounting is a method of accounting where entries for the ownership of a security and the opposing hedge are treated as one. Hedge accounting attempts to reduce the volatility created by the repeated adjustment of a financial instrument's value, known as marking to market. This reduced volatility is done by combining the instrument and the...
Hardship Withdrawal
What is 'Hardship Withdrawal' An emergency withdrawal from a retirement plan that may be subject to certain tax or account penalties. In the United States, funds withdrawn prior to the age of 59.5 are typically subject to a 10% Internal Revenue Service (IRS) early withdrawal penalty, as well as standard income taxes. Explaining 'Hardship Withdrawal'...
Hawk
What is a 'Hawk' A hawk, also known as an inflation hawk, is a policymaker or advisor who is predominantly concerned with interest rates as they relate to fiscal policy. A hawk generally favors relatively high interest rates in order to keep inflation in check. In other words, hawks are less concerned with economic growth than they...
Harmless Warrant
What is a Harmless Warrant A warrant is a security that gives the holder the right to buy or sell shares of common stock at a set price during a specified period of time. Warrants are often issued by companies that are looking to raise additional financing, and they typically have a longer expiration date than options. When a warrant...
Hedge Fund Manager
What is a 'Hedge Fund Manager' A hedge fund manager is the individual who oversees and makes decisions about the investments in a hedge fund. Managing a hedge fund can be an attractive career option because of its potential to be extremely lucrative. To be successful, a hedge fund manager must consider how to have a competitive...
Harmonized Sales Tax – HST
DefinitionThe harmonized sales tax is a consumption tax in Canada. It is used in provinces where both the federal goods and services tax and the regional provincial sales tax have been combined into a single value added sales tax. Harmonized Sales Tax - HST What is 'Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)' A Canadian tariff scheduled to be implemented...
Healthcare Sector
What is the 'Healthcare Sector' The healthcare sector is the category of stocks relating to medical and healthcare goods or services. The healthcare sector includes hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and a variety of medical products. Explaining 'Healthcare Sector' Stocks in the healthcare sector are often considered to be defensive because...
Headline Earnings
What are 'Headline Earnings' Headline earnings is a basis for measuring earnings per share implemented by the Institute of Investment Management and Research. This method accounts for all the profits and losses from operational, trading, and interest activities, that have been discontinued or acquired at any point during the year. Excluded from this figure are profits or...
Health Insurance
DefinitionHealth insurance is insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses, spreading the risk over a large number of persons. By estimating the overall risk of health care and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or...
Harmonized Index Of Consumer Prices (HICP)
What is the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)? The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is a measure of inflation produced by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The HICP covers all EU Member States as well as a number of non-EU countries. It is based on a harmonized methodology which is common to all participating countries...