Joint Return
What is 'Joint Return' A U.S. income tax return filed on behalf of a married couple, resulting in a combined tax liability. Married taxpayers can choose to file two separate tax returns or a joint tax return. The joint return is often referred to as married filing jointly (MFJ). In order to file a joint return in...
Job Hunting Expenses
What is 'Job Hunting Expenses' Costs that individuals may be allowed to deduct on their federal tax returns to reduce their total taxable income. Job hunting expenses, officially called job search expenses, are deductible if you are searching for a job in the same line of work. Qualifying job hunting expenses include fees paid to employment and...
National Securities Markets Improvement Act (NSMIA)
What is 'National Securities Markets Improvement Act - NSMIA' Passed by the U.S. Congress in 1996, the NSMIA was an attempt to update and amend previous security acts and create one uniform code that companies and regulators could follow. Explaining 'National Securities Markets Improvement Act - NSMIA' This bill deals with securities, brokers, advisors,...
Ultimate Oscillator
What is 'Ultimate Oscillator' A technical indicator invented by Larry Williams that uses the weighted average of three different time periods to reduce the volatility and false transaction signals that are associated with many other indicators that mainly rely on a single time period. Explaining 'Ultimate Oscillator' This is a range-bound indicator, which means the value fluctuates between 0 and 100. Similar...
Nasdaq SmallCap Market
What is 'Nasdaq SmallCap Market' The Nasdaq equity market for companies that have relatively small levels of market capitalization. Listing requirements for such "small cap" companies on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market are less stringent than for other Nasdaq markets that list larger companies with significantly higher market capitalization. In 2005, the Nasdaq SmallCap Market was renamed the...
Safe Deposit Box
DefinitionA safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit boxes are used to store valuable possessions, such as gemstones, precious metals, currency, marketable securities, important documents, or computer...
Targeted Amortization Class (TAC)
What is 'Targeted Amortization Class - TAC' A type of credit derivative that is similar to a planned amortization class (PAC) in that it protects investors from prepayment; however, it is structured differently than a PAC. TACs protect investors from a rise in the prepayment rate or a fall in interest rates. They do not protect from...
Yemeni Rial (YER)
What is 'Yemeni Rial - YER' The official currency of the country of Yemen. The Yemeni Rial is divided into 100 fils, but the fil coins have not been issued since 1990 following Yemeni unification. However, beginning in 1993, the Central Bank of Yemen began introducing coins in one-, five-, 10- and 20-rial denominations. Explaining...
U.S. Treasury
What is the U.S. Treasury The United States Department of the Treasury is the national treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue. The Treasury is responsible for producing all of the nation's currency, and it also plays a critical role in managing the country's finances. In...
Rally
What is a 'Rally' A rally is a period of sustained increases in the prices of stocks, bonds or indexes. This type of price movement can happen during either a bull or a bear market, when it is known as either a bull market rally or a bear market rally respectively. However, a rally will generally follow...