The advice not to fall in love with one's stocks is common, even a cliché. However, the prevalence of this phenomenon is probably overstated by financial journalists. More common is that investors hang on to poorly performing assets, but for a wide range of reasons.

An interest rate is the cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage of the loan amount. Interest rates are the primary yardstick for measuring how much return lenders will get. However, the stated interest rate on a loan, sometimes called the nominal rate, doesn't tell the whole story.

Organizations such as the FPA and NAPFA are striving to provide higher standards for the financial planning profession and greater protection for consumers through a combination of community programs, public educational and legislation.

Your portfolio's asset mix is a key factor in whether it's profitable. Find out how to get this delicate balance right.

Blitzkrieg? Dawn raids? Sounds like the markets and the battlefield have a few things in common.

Investors can learn a lot, or very little, from these indicators once they know how to use them.

If you like the idea of examining and attesting to a company's financial performance for a living, a career in auditing might be right for you.

Most mutual funds don’t come close to beating the indexes they’re compared against. And yet they carry steep fees for active management. Find out how a little research and effort can cut your mutual fund fees.

Learn how to make money off failing shares.

From a financial perspective, September is a great time for a quick reboot of your financial mind-set.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), sometimes referred to as “the big board,” is the oldest and largest stock exchange in the United States. NYSE is the place investors think of when they picture traders shouting out prices and making wild hand gestures in a visually chaotic live securities ...

These two options have many similar characteristics, but it's the differences that are important.

Use a global view to determine which stocks belong in your portfolio.

Don't overlook this overview of a company's well-being.

The emergence of Bitcoin has sparked a debate about its future and that of other cryptocurrencies. Despite Bitcoin’s recent issues, its success since its 2009 launch has inspired the creation of alternative cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ripple and MintChip.

This rate is rarely questioned - unless the economy falls into disarray.

There are numerous ways to value investments, and many investors prefer a specific valuation method. Yield investing is one way to value a stock by comparing the current price to various factors. Yield by definition means to give way to or produce. There are many ways to measure yield - three common ...

If AMC's popular series "Breaking Bad" had come along a few years earlier, maybe Pontiac's Aztek wouldn't have gone down as one of the worst-selling vehicles of all time.

Here we look at some of the landmark incidents of insider trading.

The term "cost basis" refers to the original value of a security you own. When you sell a stock, bond or mutual fund, you use the cost basis to determine your profit or loss, which in turn affects the amount of tax you owe. There are multiple methods for determining one's cost basis, one of which ...

Find the middle ground between conservative and high-risk option strategies.

Find out what problems arise for financial representatives when they start to diversify their client offerings.

Learn which tools you need to manage the risk that comes with changing rates.

From godfathers to perps, familiarize yourself with the "criminal elements" creeping around Wall Street.

We take a look at the typical workday of three actuaries who work for different types of companies and who are at different stages in their careers.

Investing overseas begins with determining the risk of the country's investment climate.

We look at the Sage of Omaha's methodology for evaluating value stocks.

Amortization is important to account for intangible assets. Read to find out more about amortization.

Finding your perfect advisor is as simple as shopping for a car. Read on to learn more.

You’ve probably been told to shop around for the best rate, but what exactly does that entail? Find out how to ensure you're getting the best possible rate on your mortgage.

Before you try to profit from their theories, you should learn about the creators themselves.

Investors who take steps now can shield themselves from the coming challenges thrust upon retirees.

When you hear that your favorite stock closed at a record high price, have you ever considered how that price was reached? The calculation effort is far more complex than you might expect. To understand the process, known as "the closing cross", it helps to know a little about the electronic marketplace ...

Branded drugs are expensive in large part because it's expensive and risky to develop them

There are many ways to profit in both bear and bull markets. The key to success is using the tools for each market to their full advantage.

The balance of trade is a key indicator of a nation’s health. Investors and market professionals appear more concerned with trade deficits than trade surpluses, since chronic deficits may be a precursor to a currency devaluation.

Knowing how the primary and secondary markets work is key to understanding how stocks trade.

There are dozens of financial literacy programs in the United States right now, but none of them seems to be effective. Why is that?

Nash Equilibrium is a key concept of game theory, which helps explain how people and groups approach complex decisions. Named after renowned mathematician John Nash, the idea of Nash Equilibrium has been used in such diverse fields as international relations, psychology and economics. Game theory ...

In the insurance space, accurate predictions of metrics such as ROE are important, and paying a low P/B can help put the odds in investors' favor.

Forex trading by retail investors has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of online trading platforms and the availability of cheap credit. The use of leverage in trading is often likened to a double-edged sword, since it magnifies gains and losses.

Financial services firms are taking a laser-like focus on analyst responsibilities and will favor candidates who bring the following "must-have" attributes to the negotiation table.

An options premium is the amount of money that investors pay for a call or put option. The two components that affect options pricing are the intrinsic value and time value. Matthew is interested in Roadking Auto, a luxury car maker, and finds that he can buy a call option with a strike price of $40 ...

The stigma that a sin stock receives seems to be more concentrated among individual investors who are certainly entitled to avoid them. The overall market, on the other hand, seems to look favorably on the stability that these companies’ products possess and values them appropriately over the long run.

Why are dividend payout and retention ratios important to consider when investing in company stock? What companies have high ratios?What constitutes a high dividend payout and retention ratio? Is a high or low ratio good or bad for a company?

Investment opportunity is huge in China. However, investors should consider the pitfalls, understand the risks and rewards, focus on shareholder-friendly companies and stick to investments they understand.

The term “open market operations” refers to a monetary policy tool in which central banks buy and sell bonds to regulate the money supply in the economy. The United States employs open market operations through the Federal Reserve Bank.