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how a graphics processing unit gpu works | the graphics in videos and g1s consist of polygonal coordinates that are converted into bitmap2s a process2 called rendering and then into signals that are shown on a screen this conversion requires the graphics processing unit gpu to have a lot of processing power which also makes gpus useful in machine learning artificial intelligence and other tasks that require a large number of complex and sophisticated computation2s history of the graphics processing unit gpu in 1999 nvidia introduced the geforce 256 the first widely available gpu nvidia defined a gpu as a single chip processor with integrated transform lighting triangle setup clipping and rendering engines that is capable of processing a minimum of 10 million polygons per second the geforce 256 improved on the technology by other processors by optimizing 3d gaming performance while nvidia still reigns supreme in the gpu market the technology has greatly improved in the 2000s nvidia released its geforce 8800 gtx which has a texture fill rate of a whopping 36 8 billion per second 2today gpus have seen a resurgence in popularity their use has been extended into new industries thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies gpus have also played a role in establishing wider access to higher quality virtual reality gaming gpus vs cpusbefore the arrival of gpus in the late 1990s graphic rendering was handled by the central processing unit cpu when used in conjunction with a cpu a gpu can increase computer performance by taking on some computationally intensive functions such as rendering from the cpu this accelerates how quickly applications can process since the gpu can perform many calculations simultaneously this shift also allowed for the development of more advanced and resource intensive software processing data in a gpu or a cpu is handled by cores the more cores a processing unit has the faster and potentially more efficiently a computer can complete tasks gpus use thousands of cores to process tasks in parallel the parallel structure of the gpu is different than that of the cpu which uses fewer cores to process tasks sequentially a cpu can perform calculations faster than a gpu which makes it better at basic tasks special considerationsthe term gpu is often used interchangeably with graphics card though the two are different a graphics card is a piece of hardware that contains one or more gpus a daughterboard and other electronic components that allow the graphics card to function a gpu can however be integrated into the motherboard or be found in the daughterboard of a graphics card initially high end computers were the only ones to feature graphics cards today most desktop computers typically use a separate graphics card with a gpu for increased performance rather than rely on a gpu built into a motherboard gpus and cryptocurrency miningwhile gpus were initially popular with video editing and computer gaming enthusiasts the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies created a new market this is because cryptocurrency mining requires thousands of calculations in order to add transactions to a blockchain which is something that could be profitable with access to a gpu and an inexpensive supply of electricity in recent years two prominent graphics card manufacturers nvidia corp nvda and advanced micro devices inc amd have experienced a rapid increase in sales and revenue as a result of cryptocurrency mining this had the side effect of frustrating non mining customers who saw prices increase and supply dry up as a result retailers occasionally limited the number of graphics cards that an individual could purchase while miners of the more popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have shifted to using specialized and more cost effective chipsets called application specific integrated circuits asics graphics processing units are still used to mine lesser known currencies the rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies has caused a massive shortage of gpus reporting from the verge calculated that gpus are being sold for two to three times their street price on sites like ebay 3examples of gpu companiesadvanced micro devices amd and nvidia nvda are two of the biggest names in the gpu market let s take a look at both companies below amd is one of the most trusted producers of graphic cards the manufacturer began as a startup in silicon valley in 1969 and develops high performance computing and visualization products 2 amd entered the gpu market in 2006 when it acquired leading video card maker ati since then amd and nvidia have been the dominant players in the gpu market as of may 2021 amd has a market cap of 97 3 billion amd has shipped over 500 million gpus since 2013 and controls 17 of the gpu market share 4amd places its focus in the gpu market on pc gaming and is a favorite among gamers worldwide nvidia was the very first company to bring gpus into the world in 1999 the first gpu in history was known as the geforce 256 1999 was also the year nvidia launched its initial public offering ipo at 12 per share 5 as of may 2021 the stock is trading around 645 per share nvidia has a market cap of 404 8 billion and controls 13 of the gpu market share 67nvidia has considerable reach in the advanced gpu market according to nvidia s website eight of the world s top 10 supercomputers now use nvidia gpus infiniband networking or both nvidia powers 346 of the overall top500 systems on the latest list nvidia s own supercomputer named selene is ranked fifth in the world and is the world s fastest industrial supercomputer 8graphics processing unit gpu faqswhereas gpu is a chip or electronic circuit capable used to render graphics for display on an electronic device a vga or video graphics array connector is a physical device used to transfer video signals and computer video output before overclocking make sure you thoroughly clean your device and install any updates and bug fixes to your software thanks to updates in technology overclocking is fairly simple simply install software such as afterburner and let the system go to work after the installation is complete run a gaming benchmark to test out the new software gpu scaling is a feature that enables users to adjust the aspect ratio of a game based on their monitor s resolution some users believe this adjusting the aspect ratio will further enhance the image quality of the display | |
what is a grantor retained annuity trust grat | a grantor retained annuity trust grat is a financial instrument used in estate planning to minimize taxes on large financial gifts to family members under these plans an irrevocable trust is created for a certain period of time assets are placed under the trust and then an annuity is paid out to the grantor every year when the trust expires and the last annuity payment is made the beneficiary receives the assets and pays little or no gift taxes understanding grantor retained annuity trusts grats a grantor retained annuity trust is a type of irrevocable gifting trust that allows a grantor or trustmaker to potentially pass a significant amount of wealth to the next generation with little or no gift tax cost grats are established for a specific number of years | |
when creating a grat a grantor contributes assets in trust but retains a right to receive over the term of the grat the original value of the assets contributed to the trust while earning a rate of return specified by the irs known as the 7520 rate when the grat s term expires the leftover assets essentially any appreciation of the original assets minus the irs assumed return rate are given to the grantor s beneficiaries | grat risksunder a grat the annuity payments come from interest earned on the assets underlying the trust or as a percentage of the total value of the assets if the individual who establishes the trust dies before the trust expires the assets become part of the taxable estate of the individual and the beneficiary receives nothing making the grat useless a successful grat also assumes that the assets appreciate so if there is a depreciation the grat doesn t work well there is also a risk with the irs s 7520 rate in that it has been so low over the last decade as to reduce the ultimate advantage of using a grat in the first place grat usesgrats are most useful to wealthy individuals who face significant estate tax liability at death in such a case a grat may be used to freeze the value of their estate by shifting a portion or all of the appreciation onto their heirs for example if a person had an asset worth 10 million but expected it to grow to 12 million over the next two years they could transfer the difference to their children tax free if the grantor dies during the term of the grat the value of the remainder interest is also included in the grantor s estate however the grantor can pass the right to receive any remaining annuity payments to their surviving spouse to qualify for the estate tax marital deduction which could eliminate any estate tax liability relating to the grat assets 1grats are especially popular with individuals who own shares in startup companies as stock price appreciation for ipo shares will usually far outpace the irs assumed rate of return that means more money can be passed to children while not eating into the grantor s lifetime exemption from estate and gift taxes grat historygrats saw a big surge in popularity in 2000 as a result of a favorable ruling in the u s tax court involving the walton family of walmart inc fame audrey j walton v commissioner of internal revenue saw the court rule in favor of walton s use of two grats in which annuity payments were set up to return all of the original assets to the grantor and leave only the appreciated value to beneficiaries through this set up the value of the gift originally put in trust is reduced to zero and any remaining value in the trust is transferred to the beneficiary tax free the use of grats in this way is known as a zeroed out grat or walton grat example of a gratfacebook founder mark zuckerberg put his company s pre ipo stock into a grat before it went public while the exact numbers are not known forbes magazine ran estimated numbers and came up with an impressive number of 37 315 513 as the value of zuckerberg s stock 2 | |
what is a gravestone doji | the term gravestone doji refers to a bearish indicator commonly used in trading by technical analysts a gravestone doji is a bearish reversal candlestick pattern that is formed when the open low and closing prices are all near each other with a long upper shadow the long upper shadow suggests that the bullish advance at the beginning of the session was overcome by bears by the end of the session this often comes just before a longer term bearish downtrend | |
what does a gravestone doji tell you | as noted above a gravestone doji is used in technical analysis it is a strategy that some investors use to make trades they rely on statistical trends such as past performance price history and trading volume to make their trading decisions they often employ charts and other tools to identify opportunities in the market one of these is the gravestone doji the gravestone doji pattern implies that a bearish reversal is coming it looks like an inverted t with a high upper shadow the open low and closing prices can be equal or almost equal for the pattern to be valid there should also be a relatively small tail or else the pattern could be classified as an inverted hammer shooting star or a spinning top the market narrative is that the bulls attempt to push to new highs over the session but the bears push the price action to near the open by the session close so the long upper shadow represents the bulls losing momentum while the gravestone doji can be found at the end of a downtrend it is more common to be found at the end of an uptrend although the gravestone doji is popular it suffers from the same reliability issues as many visual patterns traders will generally not act on a gravestone doji unless the next candle provides confirmation of a reversal the first and best way to get a grip on how technical analysis works is to learn about it read books take courses both on and offline talk to other traders and visit websites that can help teach you some tricks of the trade once you ve mastered the basics you ll be able to develop your own style trading the gravestone dojitraders will often exit long positions or initiate short positions after identifying a gravestone doji pattern although it s important to use this candlestick pattern in conjunction with other forms of technical analysis as a confirmation investors often look at the volume associated with the session as well as activity from the previous session as potential indicators of the reliability of the pattern the following chart shows a gravestone doji in cyanotech s stock following a significantly high volume uptrend which could indicate a bearish reversal over the near term following the breakout in this example the gravestone doji could predict a further breakdown from the current levels to close the gap near the 50 or 200 day moving averages at 4 16 and 4 08 respectively traders would also take a look at other technical indicators to confirm a potential breakdown such as the relative strength index rsi or the moving average convergence divergence macd day traders may also put a stop loss just above the upper shadow at around 5 10 although intermediate term traders may place a higher stop loss to avoid being stopped out gravestone doji vs dragonfly dojithe opposite pattern of a gravestone doji is a bullish dragonfly doji the dragonfly doji which isn t a very frequent pattern looks like a t and it is formed when the high open and close of the session are all equal or nearly the same unlike the gravestone doji the dragonfly doji pattern has a long lower shadow this implies aggressive selling during the period of the candle although these two formations are talked about as separate entities they are essentially the same phenomenon when confirmed one can be called bullish and the other bearish sometimes they can appear in the opposite scenario for example a gravestone doji can be followed by an uptrend or a bullish dragonfly may appear before a downtrend both patterns need volume and the following candle for confirmation it is perhaps more useful to think of both patterns as visual representations of uncertainty rather than pure bearish or bullish signals a doji is a trading session where the security s opening and closing levels or prices are either equal or virtually equal the doji is represented on the chart as a candlestick limitations of a gravestone dojithe gravestone doji can be used to suggest a stop loss placement and eyeball a profit taking plan on a downtrend but these are less precise methods than other technical indicators provide although reliability increases with volume and a confirming candle the gravestone doji is best accompanied by other technical tools to guide trading | |
what does gravestone doji mean | a gravestone doji is a trading pattern that occurs in technical analysis traders use it to identify trading opportunities it represents a bearish pattern during a reversal that will be followed by a downtrend in price traders can use the pattern to determine when to take profits either through a bearish trade or on a bullish position | |
how do you trade on a gravestone doji | the gravestone doji shows up in a series of candlestick patterns the opening closing and high prices may be equal or nearly the same when this happens the possibility of a trend reversal is likely with a new bearish trend on the horizon in order to take advantage of the trade make sure you confirm there s a trend reversal on the way after you identify the pattern then enter your position once the next candle closes below the closing price of the candlestone doji set your stop loss at the highest point of the candle and be prepared to take your profit you can also enter the trade above the closing price just be sure you set your stop loss at the lowest point of the gravestone candle before you take your profit | |
what does a gravestone doji indicate | a gravestone doji is a trading pattern that occurs in technical analysis it looks like an inverted t with a long upper shadow it is a bearish trend that indicates a reversal is on the horizon traders can assume that the reversal will be accompanied by a downtrend in the security s price when a trader identifies a gravestone doji they may be able to profit on a bullish position or by taking a position on a bearish trade | |
what s the opposite of a gravestone doji | the opposite of a gravestone doji is a dragonfly doji where the gravestone doji is an inverted t with a long upper shadow the dragonfly doji is a t with a longer lower shadow in an uptrend it means that the bearish pattern may be getting stronger while a dragonfly doji that appears in a downtrend indicates the opposite trend keep in mind that this pattern isn t one that occurs very frequently the bottom linemany traders use technical analysis to capitalize on trends in the market they use charts patterns and other tools that are based on past performance trading volumes and price history one of these tools is the gravestone doji this inverted t appears in a group of candles on a chart and is a bearish pattern indicating that a reversal is on the horizon with a downtrend in the price action knowing the ins and outs of the gravestone doji when to use it and combining it with other technical tools can help you minimize your losses while you profit on your trades | |
what is a gray box | gray box refers to the testing of software where there is some limited knowledge of its internal workings gray box testing is an ethical hacking technique where the hacker has to use limited information to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a target s security network understanding gray boxesgray box is the hybrid of white box testing where the tester examines the internal logic and structure of the software s code and black box testing where the tester knows nothing about the software s code to understand gray box testing we must first understand black box testing and white box testing black box testing looks at nothing more than inputs by the user and what output the software produces given those inputs black box testing does not require any knowledge of programming language or other technical details it is a type of high level testing used in system testing and acceptance testing software engineers require a software requirement specification srs document to perform black box testing this testing takes an end user perspective where the black box tester does not know how the outputs are generated from the inputs white box testing requires in depth knowledge of the techniques and platforms used to build software including the relevant programming language it is a type of low level testing used in unit testing and indication testing software engineers need to understand the programming language used to create the application so they can understand its source code white box testing s primary purposes are to strengthen security examine how inputs and outputs flow through the application and improve design and usability when a white box tester does not get the expected output from a given input the result is considered to be a bug that needs to be fixed | |
how gray box testing works | gray box testing includes important components of both black and white box testing to get a better result than either could obtain alone both end users and developers perform gray box testing with limited partial knowledge of an application s source code gray box testing can be manual or automated it is more comprehensive and more time consuming than black box testing but not as comprehensive or time consuming as white box testing gray box testers require detailed design documents gray box testing involves identifying inputs outputs major paths and subfunctions it then moves on to developing inputs and outputs for subfunctions executing test cases for subfunctions and verifying those results gray box examplea gray box tester might check and fix the links on a website if a link doesn t work the tester changes the html code to try to make the link work then rechecks the user interface to see if the link works a gray box tester might also test an online calculator the tester would define inputs mathematical formulas such as 1 1 2 2 5 4 and 15 3 then check to see that the calculator provides the correct outputs given those inputs the gray box tester has access to the calculator s html code and can change it if any errors are identified gray box testing looks at both the application s user interface or presentation layer and its internal workings or code it is mainly used in integration testing and penetration testing but it is not suitable for algorithm testing gray box testing is generally used to test an application s user interface security or online functionality through techniques such as matrix testing regression testing orthogonal array testing and pattern testing gray box testers are most likely to identify context specific problems gray refers to the tester s partial ability to see the application s internal workings white refers to the ability to see through the software s interface to its inner workings and black refers to the inability to see the software s internal workings gray box testing is sometimes called translucent testing while white box testing is sometimes called clear testing and black box testing may also be called opaque testing | |
what are the advantages of gray box testing | because gray box testing is meant to be conducted from the perspective of a user or hacker it may reveal important flaws in the software that wouldn t be obvious to a developer approaching the testing from a development perspective who performs gray box testing both developers and security testers can conduct gray box testing white box testing is conducted by developers and testers who are very familiar with the code used to write the software black box testing is conducted by testers who don t need to know the software s code gray box testing is a hybrid of the two and can be conducted by experts who conduct both white box and black box testing | |
how is gray box testing used in cybersecurity | gray box testing can be used to see what kind of access a user has when signing into a website or app and therefore how easy or difficult it might be for someone to hack into the site with similar credentials or without any credentials | |
what is a gray list | a gray list is a list of stocks that are ineligible for trade by an investment bank s risk arbitrage division securities on the gray list aren t necessarily exceptionally risky or otherwise inherently flawed but are nonetheless restricted in such cases the gray list can include those firms working with the investment bank often in matters of mergers and acquisitions once the firms in question have completed this business the stocks may be taken off the gray list allowing the bank to trade them once again understanding the gray listrisk arbitrage an investment strategy that seeks to profit from proposed mergers and acquisitions in particular the strategy tries to take advantage of potential for a narrowing of the gap of the trading price of a target s stock and the acquirer s valuation of that stock in an intended takeover deal in a stock for stock merger risk arbitrage involves buying the shares of the target and selling short the shares of the acquirer this investment strategy will be profitable if the deal is consummated if it is not the investor will lose money the gray list is intended to safeguard a bank s interests by keeping it from investing in stocks that currently carry an inherent amount of risk the outcome of a merger or acquisition will typically influence the value of shares issued by any of the firms involved in the deal the influence of such a business deal on the price of a stock can be either positive or negative so stocks are placed on the gray list until the deal is complete and its impact can be accurately assessed confidentiality of the gray listbecause the gray list includes firms working closely with an investment bank it is often confidential and kept close within the bank s trading divisions the document is created for internal purposes only because the specifics of a bank s business arrangements with other firms are considered confidential only the firm involved and the employees of the risk arbitrage division of the bank involved know which stocks are on a gray list or have access to it as required by their professional duties trade of stocks on the gray list by other divisions of the same bankwhile the risk arbitrage division is barred from trading within the gray list other departments or divisions of the bank in question are not prohibited from trading the gray list stocks for instance the investment bank s block trading desk is eligible for such transactions this is allowed because of what s referred to as the chinese wall which maintains secrecy between divisions or departments of a bank so that each department is unaware of the customer interactions of other departments therefore the block trading desk of the bank in question may be unaware that a merger or acquisition is in the works and would have no reason to treat shares issued by the client firm any differently than it would treat shares issued by any other firm | |
what is a gray market | a gray market is an unofficial market for financial securities gray or grey market trading generally occurs when a stock that has been suspended from trades off the market or when new securities are bought and sold before official trading begins the gray market enables the issuer and underwriters to gauge demand for a new offering because it is a when issued market i e it trades securities that will be offered in the very near future the gray market is an unofficial one but is not illegal the term gray market also refers to the import and sale of goods by unauthorized dealers in this instance as well such activity is unofficial but not illegal gray market explainedin gray market trading while the trade is binding it cannot be settled until official trading begins this may cause an unscrupulous party to renege on the trade due to this risk some institutional investors like pension funds and mutual funds may refrain from gray market trading the gray market for goods thrives when there is a significant price discrepancy for a popular product in different nations in many nations there is a substantial gray market for popular consumer devices and electronics because these can be easily purchased online and shipped to any location other popular gray market products include luxury cars high end apparel handbags and shoes cigarettes pharmaceuticals and cosmetics unauthorized dealers may import such items in bulk and despite adding a healthy markup sell them at a price still well below the local cost customers who buy such products for the discount price may face problems in the future and should ensure that they meet local safety and certification standards post sale service and support is another key issue as authorized dealers may be unwilling to service goods bought in the gray market consumers may also occasionally unwittingly buy a gray market product some indications that a product is likely to be from a gray market are a price that is considerably lower than that offered by other local retailers user manuals in a different language and photocopied manuals or duplicated software cds adverse impact on businessesthe size of some gray markets is substantial business outside official channels poses challenges for the manufacturers of the goods aside from the loss of sales that a company can book directly the gray market produces a risk to brand equity and damages relationships in the formal sales channel made up of wholesalers distributors and retailers whose exclusivity for sought after goods is weakened | |
what is the graduate record examination gre | the graduate record examination gre is a standardized exam used to measure one s aptitude for abstract thinking in the areas of analytical writing mathematics and vocabulary the gre is commonly used by many graduate schools in the u s and canada to determine an applicant s eligibility for the program 1the gre today is primarily offered via computer however in areas that lack the appropriate computer networks a paper based exam may be given 2understanding the graduate record examination gre the gre consists of three key sections designed to measure verbal and quantitative reasoning and critical writing skills the verbal reasoning section analyzes the test taker s ability to draw conclusions distinguish major and relevant points and understand words and sentences among other things it s structured to measure the test taker s ability to analyze and evaluate written material this section also gauges their capacity to process the information they gather from written material and see and analyze relationships between different parts of sentences in the quantitative segment the test taker s ability to solve problems is measured through the use of concepts of geometry data analysis and algebra test takers must solve problems using mathematical problems and interpret and analyze quantitative data the final section meanwhile measures the test taker s capacity for critical thinking and analytical writing in particular how well they can articulate complex ideas and provide effective support for those concepts history of the grethe gre was introduced in 1936 by a consortium of four universities and the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching in 1938 the university of wisconsin became the first public university to ask students to take the gre the educational testing service ets was created in 1947 and currently oversees gre testing 5 initially the gre test included only verbal and quantitative sections an analytics and logic section was later added but then replaced after 2002 with the analytical writing assessment 6new questions were introduced in 2007 together with fill in the blank style questions in the math section while 2008 brought style changes to the reading comprehension questions the biggest changes came in 2011 with a new design that includes the current 130 170 scoring scale doing away with particular question types and making the computer adaptive testing adjustments based on sections and not questions 7despite its ubiquity some universities have begun dropping gre requirements amidst criticism that the exam is unfair and biased and moreover does not provide a good prediction of graduate student success or further employment in academia most recently the ets announced that the shortening of the gre in 2023 instead of a 4 hour long exam test takers will receive a condensed exam that will take less than two hours to complete about half the time of the current test the shorter test removes and condenses some of the sections on the gre such as the argument essay experimental unscored section 10 minute break and the number of questions across the quant sections registration for the shorter test is now open for test dates beginning september 22 2023 8 | |
how the gre is scored | there are three different sections of the gre these are scored in two different ways your final gre score is the combination of your verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning scores these scores are reported on a scale of 260 to 340 in one point increments the analytical writing score is reported separately 3 | |
how admissions use the gre | the gre general test is used broadly by graduate and business schools to screen applicants some schools may require applicants to take gre subject tests which measure knowledge in particular fields of study these subject areas may include physics psychology biology literature in english and chemistry note that gre subject test areas of focus are not always static tests have been introduced or discontinued for topics such as computer science and biochemistry though the scores from previously taken tests remain reportable most business schools prefer that applicants attempt the gmat before applying for an mba program although many of them will also accept gre scores as an equivalent the gre measures a test taker s skills in vocabulary as opposed to the gmat which focuses more on mathematical ability nevertheless many business schools including the top business schools in the u s accept the gre as an entrance exam for their mba programs to get a better idea of typical scores for the gre here are the average gre scores for the class of 2022 9 | |
how to take the gre and costs | those who are looking to take the gre typically schedule to take the exam at a test center the time allotted to complete the exam is more than three hours with scheduled breaks between testing sections 10 while there is no limit on the number of times one can take the exam there must be a 21 day gap between any two consecutive test attempts the exam also cannot be taken more than five times in a calendar year 11a test taker might take the exam multiple times in order to improve their test scores and increase their chances of being accepted into the graduate schools they are interested in attending test takers choose which scores they send to graduate schools unlike other standardized tests that are reported without input from the applicant the cost of the exam in the u s is 220 that same fee applies to many other countries in the world although there are some exceptions in china and india the exam costs 231 30 and 213 respectively 4signing up and preparing for the greindividuals can sign up to take the gre on the ets website taking the computer test requires a free ets account then the test taker can sign up for a test date and center although they must register at least two calendar days prior to the planned test date payment for the test can be made via credit or debit card e check paper check or paypal in terms of preparing for the gre the ets website offers a range of resources most of which are free the ets offers free practice tests math skills reviews with definitions and examples and instructional videos the ets also offers paid materials which includes a number of additional practice tests section specific questions such as verbal reasoning can be purchased too in addition there are online writing practice features available through the service which allows you to write two essays and get scores and feedback | |
how long is the gre | the total testing time for the gre is approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes including time for breaks and instructions the individual sections durations vary with verbal and quantitative sections lasting around 1 hour each and analytical writing taking about 1 hour can you retake the gre yes you can retake the gre there is no strict limit on how many times you can take the test but there is a waiting period of 21 days between attempts you can take the gre up to five times within any continuous rolling 12 month period | |
how often can you take the gre | the gre can be taken once every 21 days up to five times within any 12 month period the number of times you can take the gre resets after 12 months from your first test can i send only my best gre score to schools yes you have the option to send only your best gre scores to schools the scoreselect option allows you to choose which scores are sent to institutions giving you control over which scores they see | |
do all schools require gre scores | no not all schools require gre scores for admission in recent years some programs have waived the gre requirement especially for specific intakes due to factors such as the covid 19 pandemic or changes in admissions policies the bottom linethe gre is a standardized test used for admissions into graduate and business school programs it assesses a student s readiness for advanced academic studies by evaluating their verbal reasoning quantitative reasoning and analytical writing skills the test consists of three main sections verbal reasoning quantitative reasoning and analytical writing gre scores range from 130 to 170 for each of the verbal and quantitative sections and from 0 to 6 for analytical writing | |
what was the great depression | the great depression was a devastating and prolonged economic recession that followed the crash of the united states stock market in 1929 it lasted through 1941 the same year that the u s entered world war ii the period was marked by several economic contractions including the stock market crash of 1929 banking panics in 1930 and 1931 and the smoot hawley tariff that crashed world trade other events and policies helped to prolong the depression during the 1930s economists and historians often cite the great depression as the most significant if not the most catastrophic economic event of the 20th century investopedia sabrina jiangit s hard to pinpoint exactly what caused the great depression but economists and historians generally agree that several factors led to this period of downturn they include the stock market crash of 1929 the gold standard a drop in lending tariffs banking panics and contracted monetary policies of the fed the 1929 stock market crashthe u s stock market fell by nearly 50 and corporate profits declined by over 90 during a short depression known as the forgotten depression that lasted from 1920 to 1921 the u s economy enjoyed robust growth during the rest of the decade the american public discovered the stock market and dove in headfirst during the roaring twenties period 1speculative frenzies affected both the real estate markets and the new york stock exchange nyse loose money supply and high levels of margin trading by investors helped fuel an unprecedented increase in asset prices 2the lead up to october 1929 saw equity prices rise to all time high multiples of more than 19 times after tax corporate earnings 3 coupled with the benchmark dow jones industrial index djia increasing 500 in just five years this ultimately caused the stock market crash 4the nyse bubble burst violently on oct 24 1929 a day that has come to be known as black thursday 5 a brief rally occurred on friday the 25th and during a half day session on saturday the 26th but the following week brought black monday oct 28 and black tuesday oct 29 the djia fell by more than 20 over those two days 6 the stock market would eventually fall almost 90 from its 1929 peak 4ripples from the crash spread across the atlantic ocean to europe triggering other financial crises such as the collapse of the boden kredit anstalt austria s most important bank the economic calamity hit both continents in full force in 1931 7the u s economy tailspinthe 1929 stock market crash wiped out nominal wealth both corporate and private and this sent the u s economy into a tailspin the u s unemployment rate was 3 2 in early 1929 it soared to over 25 by 1933 89the unemployment rate remained above 18 9 in 1938 despite unprecedented interventions and government spending by both the hoover and roosevelt administrations real per capita gross domestic product gdp was below 1929 levels by the time the japanese bombed pearl harbor in late 1941 the crash likely triggered the decade long economic downturn but most historians and economists agree that it didn t cause the great depression by itself nor does it explain why the slump s depth and persistence were so severe a variety of specific events and policies contributed to the great depression and helped to prolong it during the 1930s mistakes by the young federal reservethe relatively new federal reserve mismanaged the supply of money and credit before and after the crash in 1929 according to monetarists such as milton friedman and acknowledged by former federal reserve chair ben bernanke 10the fed was created in 1913 and it remained fairly inactive throughout the first eight years of its existence then it allowed significant monetary expansion after the economy recovered from the 1920 to 1921 depression 11the total money supply grew by 28 billion a 61 8 increase between 1921 and 1928 12 bank deposits increased by 51 1 savings and loan shares rose by 224 3 and net life insurance policy reserves jumped by 113 8 all this occurred after the federal reserve cut required reserves to 3 in 1917 gains in gold reserves via the treasury and fed were only 1 16 billion 13the fed instigated the rapid expansion that preceded the collapse by increasing the money supply and keeping the federal funds interest rate low during the decade much of the surplus money supply growth inflated the stock market and real estate bubbles the fed took the opposite course by cutting the money supply by nearly a third after the bubbles burst and the market crashed this reduction caused severe liquidity problems for many small banks and choked off hopes for a quick recovery world war ii created international trading channels and reversed burdensome price and wage controls which helped the country recover from the great depression the fed s tight fistas bernanke noted in a november 2002 address before the fed existed bank panics were typically resolved within weeks large private financial institutions would loan money to the strongest smaller institutions to maintain system integrity 10 that sort of scenario had occurred two decades earlier during the panic of 1907 at that time investment banker j p morgan stepped in to rally wall street denizens to move significant amounts of capital to banks that were lacking funds when frenzied selling sent the nyse spiraling downward and led to a bank run 14 ironically it was that panic that led the government to create the federal reserve to cut its reliance on individual financiers such as morgan the heads of several new york banks had tried to instill confidence after black thursday by prominently purchasing large blocks of blue chip stocks at above market prices 15 these actions caused a brief rally on friday but the panicked sell offs resumed on monday the stock market has grown beyond the ability of such individual efforts in the decades since 1907 only the fed was big enough to prop up the u s financial system the fed failed to do so providing no cash injection between 1929 and 1932 instead it watched the money supply collapse and let thousands of banks fail this and a collapsing financial sector led to deflation and spurred the following depression banking laws at the time made it very difficult for institutions to grow and diversify enough to survive a massive withdrawal of deposits otherwise known as a run on the bank the fed s harsh reaction may have been the result of its fear that bailing out careless banks would encourage fiscal irresponsibility in the future some historians argue that the fed created the conditions that caused the economy to overheat and then exacerbated an already dire economic situation hoover s propped up pricesherbert hoover has often been characterized as a do nothing president but he took action after the crash occurred he implemented three major changes between 1930 and 1932 hoover was mainly concerned that wages would be cut following the economic downturn he reasoned that prices had to stay high to ensure high paychecks in all industries consumers would have to pay more to keep prices high but the public was burned badly in the crash leaving many people without the resources to spend lavishly on goods and services nor could companies count on overseas trade because foreign nations weren t willing to buy overpriced american goods any more than americans were many of hoover s other post crash interventions and actions by congress such as wage labor trade and price controls damaged the economy s ability to adjust and reallocate resources 17u s protectionismthe bleak reality forced hoover to use legislation to prop up prices and wages by choking out cheaper foreign competition he signed the smoot hawley tariff act of 1930 into law following the tradition of protectionists and in the face of the protests from more than a thousand of the nation s economists the act was initially intended to protect agriculture but it swelled into a multi industry tariff imposing huge duties on more than 880 foreign products nearly three dozen countries retaliated and imports fell from 7 billion in 1929 to just 2 5 billion in 1932 international trade declined by 66 by 1934 not surprisingly economic conditions worsened worldwide 18hoover s desire to maintain jobs as well as individual and corporate income levels was understandable but he encouraged businesses to raise wages avoid layoffs and keep prices high at a time when they naturally should have fallen the u s suffered one to three years of low wages and unemployment plus cycles of recession depression before dropping prices led to a recovery the u s economy deteriorated from a recession to a depression when it was unable to sustain these artificial levels with global trade effectively cut off the new dealpresident franklin roosevelt promised massive change when he was elected in 1933 the new deal program that he initiated was an innovative unprecedented series of domestic programs and acts that were designed to bolster american businesses reduce unemployment and protect the public 19the new deal was loosely based on keynesian economics and the idea that the government could and should stimulate the economy it set lofty goals to create and maintain the national infrastructure full employment and healthy wages the government set about achieving these through price wage and even production controls 20some economists claim that roosevelt continued many of hoover s interventions just on a larger scale he kept a rigid focus on price supports and minimum wages and removed the country from the gold standard forbidding individuals to hoard gold coins and bullion 21 he banned monopolistic business practices and instituted dozens of new public works programs and other job creation agencies the roosevelt administration also paid farmers and ranchers to stop or cut back on production one of the most heartbreaking conundrums of the period was the destruction of excess crops despite the need of thousands of americans for affordable food 20federal taxes tripled between 1933 and 1940 to pay for these initiatives as well as new programs such as social security these increases included hikes in excise taxes personal income taxes inheritance taxes corporate income taxes and an excess profits tax 19new deal success and failurethe new deal led to measurable results including financial system reform and stabilization it also boosted public confidence roosevelt declared a bank holiday for an entire week in march 1933 to prevent institutional collapse due to panicked withdrawals this was followed by a construction program for a network of dams bridges tunnels and roads these projects opened up federal work programs employing thousands of people the economy showed some recovery but the rebound was far too weak for the new deal s policies to be deemed successful in pulling america out of the great depression historians and economists disagree on the reason a study by two economists at the university of california los angeles estimated that the new deal extended the great depression by at least seven years 22but it s possible that the relatively quick recovery that was characteristic of other post depression recoveries may not have occurred as rapidly after 1929 because it was the first time the general public and not just the wall street elite lost large amounts in the stock market american economic historian robert higgs argued that roosevelt s new rules and regulations came so fast and were so revolutionary that businesses became afraid to hire or invest 23philip harvey a professor of law and economics at rutgers university suggested that roosevelt was more interested in addressing social welfare concerns than in creating a keynesian style macroeconomic stimulus package social security policies enacted by the new deal created programs for unemployment disability insurance old age and widows benefits the impact of world war iilooking at employment and gdp figures the great depression appeared to end suddenly around 1941 to 1942 this was the time when the u s entered world war ii the unemployment rate fell from eight million in 1940 to just over one million in 1943 24 however more than 16 million americans were conscripted to fight in the armed services 25 the real unemployment rate in the private sector grew during the war the standard of living declined due to wartime shortages caused by rationing taxes rose dramatically to fund the war effort private investment dropped from 17 9 billion in 1940 to 5 7 billion in 1943 and total private sector production fell by nearly 50 26the notion that the war ended the great depression is a broken window fallacy but the conflict did put the u s on the road to recovery the war opened international trading channels and reversed price and wage controls government demand opened up for inexpensive products and that demand created a massive fiscal stimulus private investments rose from 10 6 billion to 30 6 billion in the first 12 months after the war ended the stock market broke into a bull run after a few short years | |
when did the great depression start | the great depression began after the stock market crash of 1929 which wiped out both private and corporate nominal wealth this sent the u s economy into a tailspin and the effects eventually trickled out beyond the u s border to europe | |
when did the great depression end | the great depression ended in 1941 at around the same time the united states entered world war ii most economists cite this as the end date because it was the time when unemployment dropped and gdp increased | |
how did the great depression end | conventional wisdom says that the u s was jolted out of the great depression by new deal job creation combined with a flood of government investment in the private sector in preparation for the country s entrance into world war ii this is disputed by some economists who assert that the depression would have ended earlier with less government intervention the bottom linethe great depression was the result of an unlucky combination of factors including a flip flopping fed protectionist tariffs and inconsistently applied government interventionist efforts the depression could have been shortened or even avoided by a change in any one of these factors the debate continues as to whether the interventions were appropriate yet many of the reforms from the new deal exist to this day they include social security unemployment insurance and agricultural subsidies the assumption that the federal government should act in times of national economic crisis has become strongly supported this legacy is one of the reasons why the great depression is considered one of the seminal events in modern american history | |
what is the great leap forward | the great leap forward was a five year plan of forced agricultural collectivization and rural industrialization that was instituted by the chinese communist party in 1958 which resulted in a sharp contraction in the chinese economy and between 30 to 45 million deaths by starvation execution torture forced labor and suicide out of desperation it was the largest single non wartime campaign of mass killing in human history 12the initiative was led by mao zedong also known as mao tse tung and chair mao mao s official goal was to rapidly evolve china from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society with a greater ability to compete with western industrialized nations 3understanding the great leap forwardin 1958 mao announced his plan for the great leap forward which he laid out as a five year plan to improve the economic prosperity of the people s republic of china he devised the plan after touring china and concluding that he felt the chinese people were capable of anything overall the plan was centered around two primary goals collectivizing agriculture and widespread industrialization with two main targets increasing grain and steel production private plot farming was abolished and rural farmers were forced to work on collective farms where all production resource allocation and food distribution was centrally controlled by the communist party large scale irrigation projects with little input from trained engineers were initiated and experimental unproven new agricultural techniques were quickly introduced around the country these innovations resulted in declining crop yields from failed experiments and improperly constructed water projects a nationwide campaign to exterminate sparrows which mao believed incorrectly were a major pest on grain crops resulted in massive locust swarms in the absence of natural predation by the sparrows grain production fell sharply and hundreds of thousands died from forced labor and exposure to the elements on irrigation construction projects and communal farming famine quickly set in across the countryside resulting in millions more deaths 1 people resorted to eating tree bark and dirt and in some areas to cannibalism farmers who failed to meet grain quotas tried to get more food or attempted to escape were tortured and killed along with their family members via beating public mutilation being buried alive scalding with boiling water and other methods 4large scale state projects to increase industrial production were introduced in urban areas and backyard steel furnaces were built on farms and in urban neighborhoods steel production was targeted to double in the first year of the great leap forward and mao forecast that chinese industrial output would exceed britain s within 15 years the backyard steel industry produced largely useless low quality pig iron existing metal equipment tools and household goods were confiscated and melted down to fuel additional production 5due to the failures in planning and coordination and resulting materials shortages which are common to central economic planning the massive increase in industrial investment and reallocation of resources resulted in no corresponding increase in manufacturing output millions of surplus laborers were moved from farms to steel making most were men breaking up families and leaving the forced agricultural labor force for the collective farms consisting of mostly women children and older adults the increase in urban populations placed additional strain on the food distribution system and demand on collective farms to increase grain production for urban consumption collective farm officials falsified harvest figures resulting in much of what grain was produced being shipped to the cities as requisitions were based on the official figures 6throughout the great leap forward while millions starved to death china remained a net exporter of grain as mao directed grain exports and refused offers of international food relief in order to convince the rest of the world that his plans were a success 6the impact of the great leap forwardthe great leap forward ended up being a massive failure tens of millions died by starvation exposure overwork and execution in just a few years it broke families apart sending men women and children to different locations and destroyed traditional communities and ways of life farmland was damaged by nonsensical agricultural practices and the landscape denuded of trees to fuel the steel furnaces thirty to forty percent of the housing stock was demolished to obtain raw materials for collective projects 4 in industry massive quantities of capital goods and raw materials were consumed in projects that yielded no additional output of final goods the great leap forward was officially halted in jan 1961 after three brutal years of death and destruction 1 | |
what was the purpose of the great leap forward program | the great leap forward was a relatively short lived effort by the communist regime of china to modernize its rural and agricultural sectors through collectivism and industrialization | |
what happened in the great leap forward | rather than stimulating the economy the measures undertaken by the great leap forward resulted in massive food shortages leading to famine and starvation ultimately tens of millions of chinese citizens died as a result | |
how did the great leap forward cause famine | the failure of this program was due to the confluence of several factors efforts to kill off birds increased insect populations that ruined crops the communal farms set up by the great leap forward were beset by inadequate food distribution throughout the country given china s relatively primitive infrastructure at the time at the same time there was an overproduction of grain much of which rotted before being able to be transported in addition there was a bias to feed residents of urban centers rather than to peasants across the countryside leading to higher death rates among rural communities than in cities 7 | |
how many people died during the great leap forward | while there is no exact count researchers have estimated the death toll to be between 30 million and 45 million individuals 2 | |
what was the impact of the great leap forward on china s economy | while the social and human consequences of the great leap forward were one of the greatest avoidable disasters of modern history the net effect on china s economy may have been positive in the end by setting it on a permanent course to becoming a dominant industrial economy in the years following the end of the program china s industrial and agricultural output increased greatly along with investment and construction activity 8the bottom linethe great leap forward was an ambitious plan for economic development urbanization and industrialization in china during the late 1950s into the 60s the plan however ended up being a disaster during the great leap forward as many as 45 million people died from diseases and famine resulting from mao zedong s failed attempt to convert small family farms to urbanized communes while simultaneously urging them into industrial production and away from agriculture | |
what is the great moderation | the great moderation is the name given to the period of decreased macroeconomic volatility experienced in the united states starting in the 1980s during this period the standard deviation of quarterly real gross domestic product gdp declined by half and the standard deviation of inflation declined by two thirds according to figures reported by former u s federal reserve chair ben bernanke 1 the great moderation can be summed up as a multi decade period of low inflation and positive economic growth understanding the great moderationthe great moderation followed a period of at times violent swings in economic performance and inflation in the u s economy from the 1960s vietnam war inflation to the collapse of bretton woods to the stagflationary recessions of the 1970s to the era of volatile interest rates and inflation amid a double dip recession in the early 1980s the years leading up to the great moderation had some severe economic ups and downs the great moderation marked a period when u s inflation remained low and stable and recessions when they came were relatively mild the great moderation as portrayed by the fedthe great moderation has been portrayed as an outcome of the monetary policy framework laid by paul volcker and continued by alan greenspan and ben bernanke during their stints as federal reserve chairs in a speech delivered in 2004 bernanke hypothesized three potential causes for the great moderation structural change in the economy improved economic policies and good luck 1the structural changes bernanke referred to included the widespread use of computers to enable more accurate business decision making advances in the financial system deregulation the economy s shift toward services and increased openness to trade 1bernanke also pointed to improved macroeconomic policies helping to moderate the large boom and bust cycles of the past with many economists suggesting that a gradual stabilizing of the u s economy correlated with increasingly sophisticated theories of monetary and fiscal policy finally bernanke referred to studies indicating that greater stability has resulted from a decrease in economic shocks during this period rather than a permanent improvement in stabilizing forces 1in retrospect bernanke s speech has been widely judged to have been prematurely self congratulatory the failure of the great moderationa few years after bernanke s speech the great moderation came to a crashing halt with the financial crisis and the great recession imbalances in the economy that had been allowed to build up for years or even decades by the fed s easy money policies throughout the great moderation came to a head the u s housing market collapsed and price inflation accelerated in early 2008 freezing up the flow of credit and liquidity in financial markets and precipitating the worst global recession since the great depression this was made possible because the normal feedback mechanisms to monetary policy stopped working during the great moderation the spread of globalization interconnected financial markets and the hegemony of the u s dollar in international trade had given the fed s decades long inflationary policies an outlet in foreign markets that effectively soaked up the price inflation that would otherwise have rapidly driven up the domestic price level and spoiled the fed s party with each recessionary cycle that occurred over the course of the great moderation the fed was able to simply double down and inflate more papering over underlying problems in the economy by printing more money the great recession when it came represented a trade off between risk and stability rather than allow moderate recessions to periodically run their course fed policymakers during the great moderation chose to run the long term risk of a catastrophic crash in order to put off short term pain like a patient given painkillers and instructed to continue walking around on a broken leg by his doctor the economy muddled through mild recessions in the early 1990s and 2000s until it reached a final breaking point in 2008 the fragile economy that the fed and others had built through the great moderation ended in a spectacular global meltdown | |
what was the 2008 great recession | the great recession was the sharp decline in economic activity that started in 2007 and lasted several years spilling into global economies it is considered the most significant downturn since the great depression in the 1930s the term great recession applies to both the u s recession officially lasting from december 2007 to june 2009 and the ensuing global recession in 2009 the economic slump began when the u s housing market went from boom to bust and large amounts of mortgage backed securities mbs and derivatives plummeted in value understanding the great recessionthe term great recession is a play on the term great depression of the 1930s when gross domestic product gdp declined more than 10 and unemployment hit 25 while no explicit criteria exist to differentiate a depression from a severe recession there is a near consensus among economists that the downturn of 2007 2009 was not a depression during the great recession u s gdp declined by 0 3 in 2008 and 2 8 in 2009 while unemployment briefly reached 10 causes of the great recessionaccording to a 2011 report by the financial crisis inquiry commission the great recession was avoidable the appointees which included six democrats and four republicans cited several key contributing factors that they determined led to the downturn first the report identified failure on the part of the government to regulate the financial industry this failure to regulate included the federal reserve s inability to stop banks from giving mortgages to people who subsequently proved to be a bad credit risk next too many financial firms took on too much risk the shadow banking system which included investment firms grew to rival the depository banking system but was not under the same scrutiny or regulation when the shadow banking system failed the collapse impacted the flow of credit to consumers and businesses other causes that the report identified included excessive borrowing by consumers and corporations along with lawmakers who did not fully understand the collapsing financial system this created asset bubbles especially in the housing market as mortgages were extended at low interest rates to unqualified borrowers who subsequently could not repay them the ensuing selloff caused housing prices to fall and left many other homeowners underwater this in turn severely impacted the market for the mortgage backed securities mbs that banks and other institutional investors held and demand for which allowed lenders to give mortgages to risky borrowers origins and consequencesthe 2001 dotcom bubble implosion followed by the terrorist attacks of sept 11 2001 hammered the u s economy the fed responded by cutting interest rates to the lowest levels since bretton woods to stimulate the economy the fed held interest rates low through mid 2004 combined with federal policy to encourage homeownership low interest rates helped spark a boom in real estate and financial markets and a dramatic expansion of the volume of total mortgage debt financial innovations such as new types of subprime and adjustable mortgages allowed borrowers many of whom otherwise might not have qualified to obtain home loans on generous terms based on the expectation that interest rates would remain low and home prices would continue to rise however from 2004 through 2006 the federal reserve raised interest rates to control inflation as interest rates rose the flow of new credit through traditional banking channels into real estate slowed more seriously rates on existing adjustable mortgages and exotic loans began to reset at much higher rates than many borrowers expected or were led to expect by lenders as monthly mortgage payments rose beyond borrowers ability to pay and they could not simply refinance as prices had stopped steadily rising many borrowers started to sell the increase in supply burst what was later widely recognized to be a housing bubble during the u s housing boom financial institutions sold mortgage backed securities and complex derivative products at unprecedented levels when the real estate market collapsed in 2007 these securities declined precipitously in value the credit markets that had financed the housing bubble quickly followed housing prices into a downturn as a credit crisis began unfolding in 2007 the solvency of over leveraged banks and financial institutions hit a breaking point with the collapse of bear stearns in march 2008 things came to a head later that year with the bankruptcy of lehman brothers the country s fourth largest investment bank in september 2008 the contagion quickly spread to other economies around the world most notably in europe as a result of the great recession the united states alone lost more than 8 7 million jobs according to the u s bureau of labor statistics doubling the unemployment rate further u s households lost roughly 19 trillion in net worth as the stock market plunged according to the u s department of the treasury the great recession s official end date was june 2009 the 2010 dodd frank act gave the government control of failing financial institutions and the ability to establish consumer protections against predatory lending response to the great recessionthe aggressive monetary policies that the fed took along with other central banks around the world was widely credited with preventing even greater damage to the global economy however some also criticized the moves claiming they made the recession last longer and laid the groundwork for later recessions for example the fed lowered a key interest rate to nearly zero to promote liquidity and in an unprecedented move provided banks with a staggering 7 7 trillion of emergency loans in a policy known as quantitative easing qe along with the inundation of liquidity the u s federal government embarked on a massive program to stimulate the economy in the form of 787 billion in spending under the american recovery and reinvestment act these monetary and fiscal policies reduced immediate losses to major financial institutions and large corporations not only did the government introduce stimulus packages but new financial regulation was also put into place in the 1990s the u s repealed the glass steagall act a depression era regulation that separated investment from retail banking to reduce systemic risk some economists say this move helped cause the crisis the repeal allowed some large u s banks to merge and form larger institutions many of which later failed and had to be bailed out in response in 2010 the u s congress passed and then president barack obama signed the dodd frank act which gave the government expanded power to regulate the financial sector including greater control over financial institutions that were deemed on the cusp of failing it also created consumer protections against predatory lending however critics of dodd frank note that the financial sector players and institutions that actively drove and profited from predatory lending and related practices during the housing and financial bubbles were also deeply involved in both the drafting of the new law and with the agencies charged with its implementation the u s federal government spent 787 billion to stimulate the economy during the great recession under the american recovery and reinvestment act according to the congressional budget office recovery from the great recessionfollowing these policies the economy gradually recovered real gdp bottomed out in the second quarter of 2009 and regained its pre recession peak in the second quarter of 2011 3 years after the initial onset of the official recession financial markets recovered as the flood of liquidity washed over wall street the dow jones industrial average djia which had lost over half its value from its august 2007 peak began to recover in march 2009 and four years later in march 2013 broke its 2007 high for workers and households the picture was less rosy unemployment was at 5 at the end of 2007 reached a high of 10 in october 2009 and did not recover to 5 until 2015 nearly eight years after the beginning of the recession real median household income did not recover to pre recession levels until 2016 critics of the policy response and how it shaped the recovery argue that the tidal wave of liquidity and deficit spending propped up politically connected financial institutions and big business at the expense of ordinary people it also may have delayed recovery by tying up economic resources in industries and activities that deserved to fail when those assets and resources could have been used by other businesses to expand and create jobs | |
how long did the great recession last | according to official federal reserve data the great recession lasted 18 months from december 2007 through june 2009 | |
have there been recessions since the great recession | not officially while the economy did suffer and markets fell following the onset of the global covid 19 pandemic in early 2020 stimulus efforts were effective in preventing a full blown recession in the u s some economists however fear that a recession may still be on the horizon | |
how much did the stock market crash during the great recession | on oct 9 2007 the dow jones industrial average closed at its pre recession high of 14 164 53 by march 5 2009 the index had fallen more than 50 to 6 594 44 on sept 29 2008 the dow fell nearly 778 points in one day it was the largest point drop in history until the market crashed in march 2020 at the start of the covid 19 pandemic the bottom linethe great recession lasted from roughly 2007 to 2009 in the u s although the contagion spread around the world affecting some economies longer the root cause was excessive mortgage lending to borrowers who normally would not qualify for a home loan which greatly increased risk to the lender lenders were willing to take this risk as they could simply package the loans into an instrument they sold passing the risk on to investors low interest rates and poor regulatory oversight following the repeal of the glass steagall act compounded the problem as credit was cheap and lending institutions had been freed from regulations that would have hampered their ability to mix commercial and investment banking which glass steagall had separated as the economy imploded and financial institutions failed the u s government launched a massive bailout program which included assistance for consumers and the many unemployed people via the 787 billion american recovery and reinvestment act arra most credit the bailouts and the arra with providing much needed relief to the public and with saving the financial industry along with other industries from total failure however some assert the money used to bail out insolvent institutions could have been directed to more productive enterprises rather than using it to save failed ones | |
what was the great society | the great society was a set of domestic policy initiatives programs and legislation introduced in the 1960s in the u s these great society programs were intended to reduce poverty levels reduce racial injustice reduce crime and improve the environment great society policies were launched by then president lyndon b johnson between 1964 and 1965 johnson first laid out his plan for what he coined a great society during a speech at the university of michigan johnson vowed that this collection of programs would lead to an end to poverty and racial injustice 1although johnson s policies and programs targeted education workforce training healthcare food security and voting and civil rights they were centrist in their approach understanding the great societythe initiatives that comprised the great society have been compared in their scope and their intent to president franklin d roosevelt s new deal programs enacted in the u s between 1933 and 1939 2the great society is considered one of the most extensive social reform plans in modern history in addition johnson s efforts helped establish greater civil and voting rights greater environmental protections and increased aid to public schools great society programsin march 1964 johnson introduced the office of economic opportunity and the economic opportunity act to congress johnson wanted to address the underprivileged members of the u s by creating a job corps he also asked state and local governments to develop work training programs a national work study program provided funding for 140 000 americans to attend college other initiatives included community action programs government sponsored programs that trained volunteers to serve poor communities loans to employers to hire the unemployed funding for agricultural co ops and help for parents re entering the workforce 3 | |
when johnson took office many aging adults and those living paycheck to paycheck or living below the federal poverty level in the u s lacked any health insurance when johnson became the president the medicare and medicaid programs became part of u s law | the great society contributed to an increase in life expectancies from 66 6 years for men and 73 1 for women years in 1964 to 73 2 and 79 1 respectively in 2021 45medicare helped to provide coverage for hospital and physician visits for aging adults the medicaid program helped cover healthcare costs for those suffering from poverty and receiving assistance from the government 6project head start began as an eight week summer camp it was operated by the office of economic opportunity and 500 000 children aged from three to five received preschool education 7in 1965 the elementary and secondary education act was passed which guaranteed federal funding for education in school districts where the majority of students were living in low income households 8johnson also created additional support for the arts and humanities by signing the national foundation on the arts and humanities act in 1965 9various environmental initiatives set water quality standards and vehicle emission standards laws were also passed to create scenic trails and protect wildlife rivers and historic landmarks project head start which began under president johnson supports children s growth in a positive learning environment through various services from early development educational development to overall family health today head start programs reach over a million children every year in the united states 10the great society established several laws and agencies to protect u s consumers in 1972 the consumer product safety commission cpsc was formed to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products 11the cpsc creates and enforces standards restricts unsafe consumer products oversees the recall and replacement of products and provides education on consumer safety most products except for motor vehicles food drugs alcohol tobacco and firearms fall under the jurisdiction of the consumer product safety commission the great society also established the child protection act of 1966 to protect children from dangerous toys and products under the act the federal government possesses the authority to define potential hazards and issue warning labels on hazardous toys and household items 12the legacy of the great societygreat society policies also focused on urban renewal following world war ii many major cities were in poor condition and affordable housing was hard to find particularly for the disadvantaged and underprivileged the housing and urban development act of 1965 provided federal funds to cities to invest in urban development that met minimum housing standards 13 the act provided better access to home mortgages and a rent subsidy program johnson s great society policies birthed medicare medicaid the older americans act and the elementary and secondary education act esea of 1965 all of which remain government programs in 2021 in addition johnson s policies helped create the national endowment for the humanities and the national endowment for the arts to support and fund cultural institutions necessary for a healthy society these programs fund and support libraries public television and radio museums and archives the great society programs and policies inspire educate and lift americans out of poverty decades after they were put into place special considerationsjohnson s government funded programs aimed to reduce poverty and improve society and his initiatives increased education levels and reduced inequality among americans unfortunately some of johnson s efforts were overshadowed by the vietnam war as the conflict waged on johnson was forced to divert funds to promote education and help underprivileged members of society to the war that claimed over 58 000 american lives 14 america s involvement in vietnam tarnished johnson s reputation despite his efforts to improve life for millions of americans | |
what is the definition of great society | the definition of great society harkens to a group of government policy initiatives created in the 1960s by lyndon b johnson that were designed to improve the lives of americans | |
what were some of the programs of the great society | project head start the national endowment for the arts medicare and medicaid are all programs that were part of the great society initiatives who urged congress to pass the civil rights act as part of his vision for a great society before his untimely death president john kennedy asked congress in 1963 for a comprehensive civil rights bill when lyndon b johnson became the president after kennedy s death he urged congress to pass the civil rights act as part of his and the late kennedy vision for a great society 15 | |
what is the greater fool theory | the greater fool theory argues that prices go up because people are able to sell overpriced securities to a greater fool whether or not they are overvalued that is of course until there are no greater fools left investing according to the greater fool theory means ignoring valuations earnings reports and all the other data ignoring the fundamentals is of course risky and so people subscribing to the greater fool theory could be left holding the bag after a correction understanding the greater fool theoryif acting in accordance with the greater fool theory an investor will purchase questionably priced securities without any regard for their quality if the theory holds the investor will still be able to quickly sell them off to another greater fool who could also be hoping to flip them quickly unfortunately speculative bubbles burst eventually leading to a rapid depreciation in share prices the greater fool theory breaks down in other circumstances as well including during economic recessions and depressions in 2008 when investors purchased faulty mortgage backed securities mbs it was difficult to find buyers when the market collapsed by 2004 u s homeownership had peaked at just under 70 then in late 2005 home prices started to fall leading to a 40 decline in the u s home construction index in 2006 many subprime borrowers were no longer able to withstand high interest rates and began to default on their loans financial firms and hedge funds that owned in excess of 1 trillion in securities backed by these failing subprime mortgages also began to move into distress 12greater fool theory and intrinsic valuationone of the reasons that it was difficult to find buyers for mbs during the 2008 financial crisis was that these securities were built on debt that was of very poor quality it is important in any situation to conduct thorough due diligence on an investment including a valuation model in some circumstances to determine its fundamental worth due diligence is a broad term that encompasses a range of qualitative and quantitative analyses some aspects of due diligence can include calculating a company s capitalization or total value identifying revenue profit and margin trends researching competitors and industry trends as well as putting the investment in a broader market context crunching certain multiples such as price to earnings pe price to sales p s and price earnings to growth peg investors can also take steps to understand management the effects and methods of their decision making and company ownership via a capitalization table that breaks down who owns the majority of company shares and has the strongest voting power example of the greater fool theorybitcoin s price is often cited as an example of the greater fool theory the cryptocurrency doesn t appear to have intrinsic value although this is an area of debate consumes massive amounts of energy and consists simply of lines of code stored in a computer network despite these concerns the price of bitcoin has skyrocketed over the years at the end of 2017 it touched a peak of 20 000 before retreating attracted to the lure of profiting from its price appreciation traders and investors rapidly bought and sold the cryptocurrency with many market observers positing that they were buying simply because they hoped to resell at a higher price to someone else later the greater fool theory helped the price of bitcoin zoom upwards in a short period of time as demand outstripped supply of the cryptocurrency 3the years 2020 21 saw bitcoin rise to new highs topping 60 000 and hovering above 50 000 for weeks this time however large institutional investors and corporations such as tesla and paypal have been involved in the buying and it is debatable whether or not they can be considered fools so perhaps bitcoin is not an example of the greater fool theory after all 3 | |
what is the greek drachma | the greek drachma was the basic unit of currency in greece until 2002 when it was replaced by the euro the euro is now the only official currency of the country understanding the greek drachmathe drachma had been a currency unit used in many ancient greek city states it was re introduced in 1832 following the creation of the modern country of greece where it replaced the phoenix the first currency of modern greece introduced in 1828 in 2002 the drachma was subsequently replaced by the euro and ceased to be legal tender 1the first 500 and 5000 drachma notes were issued in 1928 following these notes in 1935 1 000 50 and 100 notes were printed between 1940 and 1944 during the axis occupation of greece the first series of 20 000 and 50 000 drachma notes were printed drachma notes of 10 000 also existed due to inflation during this time large denominated notes were also created such as 100 billion drachmas after the war the first drachma notes that were circulated in the country were 50 and 100 notes a new 5 000 drachma note came in 1950 between 1954 and 1955 it was decided that the new drachma note would be equal in value to 1 000 old drachmas this resulted in 10 000 20 000 and 50 000 drachma notes now being 10 20 and 50 drachma notes respectively from there until the end of the drachma there were various new notes and issues 2drachma coins were also used such as 10 and 20 drachma coins 3the three modern greek drachmaes were replaced by the euro in 2001 at the rate of 340 750 drachmae to one euro this exchange rate was fixed in 2001 and the euro was introduced shortly thereafter in january 2002 4the greek drachma and grexitfollowing the greek debt crisis that erupted in 2009 there have been arguments for and against greece eliminating the euro and reintroducing the drachma as its national currency by leaving the eu in a process dubbed grexit 5the primary impetus for grexit was to bring greece back from the edge of bankruptcy the idea was that a devalued drachma would encourage overseas investment and increase european tourism at reduced rates by paying in euros which is more expensive the euro s value would go further in greece this would impact greece negatively in the short term but the increased investment and tourism would help it recover from its debt crisis without the assistance of the eurozone and its stringent requirements those against grexit argued that the switch to the lower valued drachma would reduce the living standards of the greek citizen and result in a difficult economic transition all of which would result in social unrest throughout the country on july 5 2015 the greek population voted in a referendum on whether to accept an agreement between greece and its creditors the european commission the european central bank and the international monetary fund the voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal which would have imposed austerity measures leading to speculation that grexit and a return to the drachma were at hand 6on the 16th however the greek parliament voted to accept a slightly modified agreement averting greece s departure from the eurozone 7history of the greek drachmathe national bank of greece issued drachma banknotes from 1841 to 2001 after which time greece joined the european union eu and adopted its common currency the euro drachma note denominations ranged widely over much of its existence initially 5 drachma notes were created simply by cutting a 10 drachma note in half 1in ancient greece the most popular drachma coin the tetradrachm had the profile of the goddess athena on one side and an owl on the other 8after greece won its national independence from the ottoman empire in 1828 the new nation issued the phoenix as its currency however it was short lived only in use for four years in 1832 the drachma was re introduced harkening back to its ancient origins the first drachmae notes were impressed with the image of king otto who reigned as modern greece s first king from 1832 to 1862 9greek drachma vs euro | |
when greece switched to using the euro it benefited greatly it switched from a low value currency to a high value currency that being said if greece had its own currency it could print as much as it liked until it stimulated economic growth in addition having a weaker currency would attract investment including an increase in exports and tourism the downside is that printing too much money would cause inflation | despite any benefits of having its own currency greece benefits from being part of the eurozone it has a strong currency it receives aid packages and using a powerful currency makes it safer and more efficient for companies to do business greece benefits from stable financial markets because of using the euro which generates investments and trade using the euro does come with rigid rules that often don t benefit less wealthy countries like greece while greatly benefiting wealthier ones like germany | |
what was the drachma made from | the drachma was made with silver but over time it became debased as copper was introduced into the silver 9 | |
why did greece stop using the drachma | greece stopped using the drachma as part of the european union s switch to utilizing one international unit of exchange greece had been part of the eu since the 1980s and as all the countries moved to adopt one currency with the goal of benefiting from more efficient trade and financial markets greece moved with the process as well 4will greece switch back to the drachma as of now despite the presence of grexit supporters greece will not switch back to the drachma the bottom linethe greek drachma was the official currency of greece for most of its history from antiquity to being reintroduced in the 1800s until it was replaced by the euro in 2002 the switch to the euro has come with many advantages and disadvantages for greece and the debate of switching back to the drachma has been popular in the last few years despite the benefits of a lower value currency greece does benefit in many ways by using the euro | |
what are the greeks | the variables that are used to assess risk in the options market are commonly referred to as the greeks a greek symbol is used to designate each of these risks each greek variable is a result of an imperfect assumption or relationship of the option with another underlying variable traders use different greek values such as delta theta and others to assess options risk and manage option portfolios understanding the greeksgreeks encompass many variables these include delta theta gamma vega and rho among others each one of these greeks has a number associated with it and that number tells traders something about how the option moves or the risk associated with that option the primary greeks delta vega theta gamma and rho are calculated each as a first partial derivative of the options pricing model for instance the black scholes model the number or value associated with a greek changes over time therefore sophisticated options traders may calculate these values daily to assess any changes that may affect their positions or outlook or simply to check if their portfolio needs to be rebalanced below are several of the main greeks traders look at deltadelta represents the rate of change between the option s price and a 1 change in the underlying asset s price in other words the price sensitivity of the option is relative to the underlying asset the delta of a call option has a range between 0 and 1 while the delta of a put option has a range between 0 and 1 for example assume an investor is long a call option with a delta of 0 50 therefore if the underlying stock increases by 1 the option s price would theoretically increase by 50 cents for options traders delta also represents the hedge ratio for creating a delta neutral position for example if you purchase a standard american call option with a 0 40 delta you will need to sell 40 shares of stock to be fully hedged net delta for a portfolio of options can also be used to obtain the portfolio s hedge ratio a less common usage of an option s delta is the current probability that the option will expire in the money for instance a 0 40 delta call option today has an implied 40 probability of finishing in the money thetatheta represents the rate of change between the option price and time or time sensitivity sometimes known as an option s time decay theta indicates the amount an option s price would decrease as the time to expiration decreases all else equal for example assume an investor is long an option with a theta of 0 50 the option s price would decrease by 50 cents every day that passes all else being equal theta increases when options are at the money and decreases when options are in and out of the money options closer to expiration also have accelerating time decay long calls and long puts will usually have negative theta short calls and short puts will have positive theta by comparison an instrument whose value is not eroded by time such as a stock would have zero theta gammagamma represents the rate of change between an option s delta and the underlying asset s price this is called second order second derivative price sensitivity gamma indicates the amount the delta would change given a 1 move in the underlying security for example assume an investor is long on a call option on hypothetical stock xyz the call option has a delta of 0 50 and a gamma of 0 10 therefore if stock xyz increases or decreases by 1 the call option s delta would increase or decrease by 0 10 gamma is used to determine how stable an option s delta is higher gamma values indicate that delta could change dramatically in response to even small movements in the underlying s price gamma is higher for options that are at the money and lower for options that are in and out of the money and accelerates in magnitude as expiration approaches gamma values are generally smaller the further away from the date of expiration options with longer expirations are less sensitive to delta changes as expiration approaches gamma values are typically larger as price changes have more impact on gamma options traders may opt to not only hedge delta but also gamma in order to be delta gamma neutral meaning that as the underlying price moves the delta will remain close to zero read about investopedia s 10 rules of investing by picking up a copy of our special issue print edition vegavega represents the rate of change between an option s value and the underlying asset s implied volatility this is the option s sensitivity to volatility vega indicates the amount an option s price changes given a 1 change in implied volatility for example an option with a vega of 0 10 indicates the option s value is expected to change by 10 cents if the implied volatility changes by 1 because increased volatility implies that the underlying instrument is more likely to experience extreme values a rise in volatility will correspondingly increase the value of an option conversely a decrease in volatility will negatively affect the value of the option vega is at its maximum for at the money options that have longer times until expiration greek language buffs will point out that there is no actual greek letter vega there are various theories about how this symbol which represents the greek letter nu found its way into stock trading lingo rhorho represents the rate of change between an option s value and a 1 change in the interest rate this measures sensitivity to the interest rate for example assume a call option has a rho of 0 05 and a price of 1 25 if interest rates rise by 1 the value of the call option would increase to 1 30 all else being equal the opposite is true for put options rho is greatest for at the money options with long times until expiration minor greekssome other greeks which aren t discussed as often are lambda epsilon vomma vera zomma and ultima these greeks are second or third derivatives of the pricing model and affect things such as the change in delta with a change in volatility and so on they are increasingly used in options trading strategies as computer software can quickly compute and account for these complex and sometimes esoteric risk factors implied volatilityimplied volatility is not a greek but it is related to them this value forecasts how volatile the stock underlying an option will be in the future implied volatility is theoretical meaning it shows what is expected but is not always dependable this value is usually reflected in the price of an option implied volatility can help you judge what assumptions market makers are using to set their bid and ask prices implied volatility is often provided on options trading platforms rather than being something that traders need to calculate for themselves this is because market makers use implied volatility to set their prices so traders need to know how volatile those market makers think an underlying stock will be implied volatility is based on a number of factors including comparing an underlying stock s historic volatility to its implied volatility can help you judge whether the option you are considering is priced low or high if the implied volatility is higher than normal this generally benefits option sellers implied volatility that is lower than normal on the other hand usually benefits option buyers | |
what are the greeks in options | the five main greeks in options trading are delta theta gamma vega and rho each greek has a number value that provides information about how the option is moving or the risk associated with buying or selling that option these values change over time so savvy traders will check them daily or multiple times a day before making trades | |
is a high delta good for options | a rise in the price of the underlying stock is positive for call options but not for put options this means that the delta value is positive for call options and negative for put options | |
which greek measures volatility | theta measures the rate of decline in the value of an option over time this is its sensitivity to implied volatility implied volatility is a separate value that is not a greek but is often used alongside them to value an option | |
are greeks part of the price of an option | the greeks are not part of the price of an option they are used to estimate what the price of an option might do in response to changes in the market or the value of the underlying stock this can help you judge the underlying risk of an option and whether it is a good investment or not the bottom linein options investing the greeks are values that estimate the various risk characteristics of an options position they tell traders how an option is likely to react to changes in the market such as a change in the price of the underlying asset greeks can be used to judge the riskiness of an investment in that option the greeks get their name because they are represented by letters from the greek alphabet the five main ones are delta gamma vega theta and rho there are also minor greeks such as lambda epsilon vomma vera zomma and ultima the use of these minor greeks is becoming more common since computers can quickly calculate complex variables for traders | |
what is a green bond | as the world increasingly focuses on addressing climate change and other environmental challenges green bonds have become popular for investors to align their financial goals with their values and contribute to positive change green bonds are a type of fixed income investment used to fund projects with a positive environmental impact like traditional bonds green bonds offer investors a stated return and a promise to use the proceeds to finance or refinance sustainable projects either in part or whole these bonds are issued by public private or multilateral entities to raise capital for initiatives that contribute to a more sustainable economy and generate identifiable climate environmental or other benefits projects funded by green bonds include renewable energy energy efficiency clean public transportation pollution prevention and control conservation sustainable water and wastewater management and green buildings that meet internationally recognized standards and certifications green bonds are meant to encourage sustainability and support climate related or other environmental projects they help finance projects ranging from energy efficiency to sustainable agriculture and forestry to protecting aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems they also finance the cultivation of environmentally friendly technologies and climate change mitigation like other bonds the green variety often has tax incentives in the form of credits and exemptions making them more attractive than comparable taxable bonds green bonds are often verified by a third party such as the climate bonds standard board which certifies that the bond will fund projects that provide environmental benefits history of green bondsas recently as 2012 the value of all green bonds issued was just 2 6 billion but in recent years the market has boomed as governments introduce new requirements to tackle climate change and many investors want investments that meet their esg goals bloomberg reports that sales of green bonds climbed to a record 575 billion in 2023 of that total 190 billion of green bonds were issued by governments during the year demand is expected to increase in the coming years thanks to cheaper borrowing costs made possible by the expectation of falling interest rates and european regulations to improve the transparency comparability and credibility of the green bond market green bond funds developed in the 2010s broadening the ability of retail investors to participate in these initiatives allianz se alv de axa s a state street corporation stt tiaa cref blackrock inc blk axa world funds and hsbc holdings plc hsbc are among the investment companies and asset management firms that have sponsored green bond mutual funds or exchange traded funds etfs the year when the world bank issued the first so labeled green bond for institutional investors real world example of green bondsthe world bank is a major issuer of green bonds in 2022 the last year for which data is available it reported 40 8 billion in bonds issued 28 2 billion in funds disbursed and 33 1 billion in new lending committed previously the bank had reported issuing 14 4 billion in green bonds from 2008 through 2020 the funds went to projects for energy and efficiency 33 clean transportation 27 and agriculture and land use 15 one of the bank s first green bond sales financed the rampur hydropower project which provided low carbon hydroelectric power to northern india s electricity grid financed by issuances of green bonds it produces almost 2 megawatts per year preventing 1 4 million tons of carbon emissions in 2022 its combined projects lowered carbon emissions by 8 4 million tons types of green bondswhile all green bonds represent a form of debt financing for an environmental project the specific characteristics of each instrument may differ based on its issuer what the proceeds are used for and the recourse of bondholders to the issuer s assets in case of a liquidation among other factors the following are types of green bonds available on the market | |
how to buy green bonds | investments in green bonds often come from institutional investors mutual funds hedge funds and endowments that can afford to invest large sums in debt instruments however many mutual funds and etfs offer exposure to the green bond space for retail investors who want to align their portfolios with their environmental sensibilities and values for example the ishares usd green bond etf bgrn tracks the performance of an index comprising investment grade bonds that finance environmental projects while the etf focuses only on u s dollar denominated debt it includes bonds from non u s issuers and u s based borrowers while etfs like bgrn are readily available through a brokerage account or online platform retail investors who want to buy individual green bonds have a slightly more complex situation your broker may allow you to invest in individual bonds but when purchasing green bonds from corporate issuers you may be subject to minimum deposits maintenance fees and commissions government issued green bonds may also be available to buy through your broker or directly from the issuer | |
how are green bonds different from blue bonds | blue bonds are sustainability bonds used to finance projects that protect the ocean and related ecosystems they might support sustainable fisheries protection of coral reefs and other fragile ecosystems or reducing pollution and acidification all blue bonds are green bonds but not all green bonds are blue bonds | |
how are green bonds different from climate bonds | green bonds and climate bonds are sometimes used interchangeably but some authorities use the latter term specifically for projects focusing on reducing carbon emissions or alleviating the effects of climate change the climate bonds initiative has set standards for certifying climate bonds | |
how do i know if a green bond is actually green | despite efforts like those of the climate bonds initiative there is no universally recognized standard for determining the environmental friendliness of a bond sometimes debt instruments may be marketed to investors as green even if their positive environmental impact is dubious at best examples of greenwashing making exaggerated or misleading ecological claims highlight the need for investors to carry out due diligence regarding potential green bond purchases in addition to the climate bonds initiative other companies provide assessments of bond issuers environmental claims including bloomberg l p rating agencies such as moody s and other specialized firms the bottom linegreen bonds are debt securities designed to finance environmentally friendly projects green bonds may offer tax advantages providing incentives for investing in sustainable projects that do not apply to comparable types of bonds investors seeking assets that align with their environmental values should be sure to verify the claims of sustainability made by bond issuers | |
what is a green card | a green card is a colloquial name for the identification card issued by u s citizenship and immigration services to permanent residents who are legally allowed to live and work in the u s indefinitely green cards got their nickname because they were green in color from 1950 to 1964 in 2010 they became green again but the nickname persisted during the intervening decades of blue pink and yellow green cards | |
how a green card works | individuals can be eligible for a green card through family work refugee asylee status or a variety of special programs 1 these include the diversity immigrant visa program which makes up to 55 000 visas available each year through a lottery system targeted at underrepresented countries 2 making investments above a certain threshold can entitle an investor to permanent resident status 3requirements for a green cardpermanent residents who are 18 or older are required to carry their green cards at all times or face fines or jail time the fine can be up to 100 or 30 days in jail 4 the cards expire after 10 years and must be renewed except for those issued from 1979 to 1989 which never expire 56 conditional permanent residents who obtain legal status through a recent marriage or investment must file a petition to remove their conditional residency 90 days prior to their green card expiration date 7the green card lottery system is officially known as the diversity immigrant visa program or diversity program dv the first one was officially held in 1994 but the program existed under different auspices since 1986 and with smaller limits the reason why the u s has this system is to give countries with low immigration rates to the u s a chance of winning a green card it also pays homage to america s heritage as a cultural melting pot applications for the green card lottery have continued to rise hitting roughly 23 million in 2018 but only about 116 000 of these applicants were granted visas 8currently the dv program gives away upwards of 55 000 visas per year countries that have more than 50 000 residents legally immigrating to the u s in the last five years are not allowed to participate if your spouse wins so do you as long as you are registered and all unmarried children under 21 will also be given a green card your family must be listed on the application for you to win 2 | |
what are green chip stocks | green chip stocks are shares of environmentally friendly companies green chip stocks are likely to be concentrated in areas such as alternative energy pollution control carbon abatement and recycling but despite these issues green chip stocks may attract significant interest from investors who care about environmentally friendly market leaders these stocks are popular with investors who want to focus on socially responsible investing sri understanding green chip stocksthe term green chip stocks or green chips is derived from blue chips which refers to stocks that are considered to be industry leaders and consistently profitable green chips though represent public companies whose primary focus and business are seen as eco friendly or beneficial to the environment as such a typical green chip stock may not always be as profitable as a blue chip stock that s because its financial structure may be less stable than that of a blue chip individuals who focus on socially responsible investing generally tend to favor green chips over other companies regardless of how well they perform in fact these companies and their stocks are increasingly popular as environmental issues and corporate social responsibility csr takes on more importance in the business world this investment style focuses on companies that have a positive impact on society including those that promote high moral values and have a positive impact on the environment segments of green chip companiesany public company that operates in the green industry is considered a green chip these companies may take part in the following these segments can be further divided into more specific categories for instance the renewable energy segment can be divided into several categories including wind power solar energy and geothermal power wind power is in fact one of the fastest growing sources of alternative energy and has continued to grow within the last 20 years due to a drop in costs 1 solar power consists of solar power companies and those associated with the construction and installation of these systems one of the newest entrants into the green sector is the legal cannabis industry special considerationsthese shares tend to be more volatile than other more profitable companies most investors are willing to overlook their limitations during bull markets which is when they tend to surge but some investors may not be willing to follow suit during bear markets and recessions that s because there tends to be a flight to safety during these periods as investors flock to companies that are able to provide more sustainable and predictable returns green ships tend to be more volatile than other more profitable companies and often surge during bull markets for instance alternative energy stocks were among the best performers in the latter part of the global bull market between 2003 and 2007 as the search for other energy sources assumed greater importance in an economic situation of triple digit prices in crude oil but these stocks experienced a sudden reversal of fortune in the 2008 bear market as investors exited their positions in droves due to uncertainty about the global recession and the collapse in conventional energy prices the outlook for green chips is also generally affected by the level of government subsidies and support available to them or to users of their end products while higher subsidy levels can boost these stocks reduced government subsidies can have an adverse impact on them | |
what is a green field investment | a green field investment is a type of foreign direct investment fdi in which a parent company creates a subsidiary in a different country building its operations from the ground up in addition to the construction of new production facilities these projects can also include the building of new distribution hubs offices and living quarters investopedia sydney burnsthe basics of a green field investmentthe term green field investment gets its name from the fact that the company usually a multinational corporation mnc is launching a venture from the ground up plowing and prepping a green field these projects are foreign direct investments known simply as direct investments that provide the highest degree of control for the sponsoring company another method of fdi includes foreign acquisitions or buying a controlling stake in a foreign company however when a business takes the acquisition route it may face regulations or difficulties that can hinder the process green field investments carry the same high risks and costs associated with building new factories or manufacturing plants in a green field project a company s plant construction for example is done to its specifications employees are trained to company standards and fabrication processes can be tightly controlled this type of involvement is the opposite of indirect investment such as the purchase of foreign securities companies may have little or no control in operations quality control sales and training if they use indirect investment splitting the distance between a green field project and indirect investment is the brown field investment with brown field investing a corporation leases existing facilities and land and adapts them to suit its needs renovation and customization usually result in relatively lower expenses and quicker turn around than building from scratch risks and benefits of green field investmentsdeveloping countries tend to attract prospective companies with offers of tax breaks or they could receive subsidies or other incentives to set up a green field investment while these concessions may result in lower corporate tax revenues for the foreign community in the short run the economic benefits and the enhancement of local human capital can deliver positive returns for the host nation over the long term as with any startup green field investments entail higher risks and higher costs associated with building new factories or manufacturing plants smaller risks include construction overruns problems with permitting difficulties in accessing resources and issues with local labor companies contemplating green field projects typically invest large sums of time and money in advance research to determine feasibility and cost effectiveness tax breaks financial incentiveseverything done to specificationscomplete control of venturegreater capital outlaymore complex to planlonger term committmentas a long term commitment one of the greatest risks in green field investments is the relationship with the host country especially politically unstable one any circumstances or events that result in the company needing to pull out of a project at any time can be financially devastating for the business real world examples of green field investmentsgreen field investments can be measured well into the billions of dollars for example total planned expenditures for investments in the u s initiated in 2022 exceeded 85 billion this includes first year expenditures and future expenditures the u s bureau of economic analysis bea tracks green field investments that involve investments by foreign entities to either establish new businesses in the u s or expand existing foreign owned businesses 1historically mexico has been viewed as an attractive country for green field investments due in large part to its low costs of labor and manufacturing as well as its proximity to markets in the united states in april 2015 toyota announced its first green field project in mexico in three years costing 1 5 billion for the new manufacturing plant in guanajuato along with the plant the automaker planned to build or improve urban development to provide housing for the workers called toyota city 2 | |
where do green field investments get their name | the name comes from the fact that these developments are taking place in previously undeveloped areas such as green fields this can be true both literally and figuratively the development might literally take place in a previously green field figuratively it might be taking place in an area with no other such developments | |
how did green field investments differ from brown field investments | brown field investments involve redeveloping areas where industry already has existed in some cases it might involve redeveloping a previously developed property that has gone unused for some time | |
how do foreign nations benefit from green field investments | as a new development a green field project brings jobs to the nation where the development is taking place this benefits the local economy directly and also benefits the local population that gains income from the jobs in addition to the professional experience the bottom linegreen field investments involve companies building new facilities from the ground up in other nations the companies benefit because they often are able to get tax breaks for developing in the nations in question those nations benefit from the new jobs that will benefit their economies these differ from brown field investments which involve companies building on land that already has been developed or used for industry | |
what is a green fund | a green fund is a mutual fund or another investment vehicle that will only invest in companies that are deemed socially conscious or directly promote environmental responsibility a green fund can come in the form of a focused investment vehicle for companies engaged in environmentally supportive businesses such as alternative energy green transport water and waste management and sustainable living understanding green fundsgreen funds are investment funds whose portfolio is largely based on environmental social and governance esg criteria a green fund s investment strategy can be based on some of the following characteristics based on performance it is not yet clear whether green funds and socially responsible investing sri can consistently create better returns for investors but they do represent a proactive step toward environmental consciousness which many investors see as valuable history of green fundssome have cited green investing as having begun in earnest during the 1990s a period where investors were more seriously taking into account the harm businesses or the pressure entire industries were putting on the environment in the wake of headline grabbing events like the exxon valdez oil spill and protracted fights over logging rights in the pacific northwest a set of investors began to focus their attention and resources on those businesses that were better at managing their environmental impact than more traditional enterprises for some investors these businesses were not only operating in a more ethical manner but also had a competitive advantage over companies who were ill equipped to reduce their impact on the environment others saw an ethical obligation to invest in technologies and businesses that could contribute to building a sustainable society through renewable energy sources following the exxon valdez oil spill of 1989 congress passed the oil pollution act opa of 1990 which strengthened the powers of the environmental protection agency epa to prevent future oil spills and to punish polluters 23types of green fundsgreen funds invest in areas such as renewable energy and buildings and efficiency sectors the renewable energy sector is a broad one including solar energy wind battery and energy storage technologies as well as the materials that help make those technologies possible the buildings sector includes builders who use energy efficient materials making each building s carbon footprint smaller whether they re being used for commercial residential or office use socially conscious investing has continued to gain in popularity largely due to increased worldwide exposure to the issue of climate change as well as increased federal funding for alternative energy and other programs since 2009 the green transition scoreboard a project run by ethical markets media has tracked a cumulative 10 39 trillion invested in the green economy through the end of 2019 4the total investment in the green economy between 2009 and 2019 4performance of green fundsmoney has poured into green funds as investors seek both socially responsible investments and returns from the uptick in green technologies such as wind and solar power according to the forum for sustainable and responsible investment there were 3 1 trillion in assets managed by registered investment companies with esg criteria such as mutual funds and index funds in 2020 5despite sometimes high fees the funds have also garnered relatively solid performance according to morningstar sustainable funds in 2019 outperformed conventional funds with 66 finishing in the top half of their categories and 35 finishing in the top quartile the returns of only 16 of sustainable funds finished in the bottom quartile in 2019 the number of sustainable funds grew to 303 open end and exchange traded fund etfs 6 | |
are green funds profitable | while profit is not the only goal for green investing some studies have found that funds with esg criteria are competitive with the returns of more traditional funds a morningstar analysis of 4 900 funds over ten years found that 58 8 of sustainable funds have beaten their average surviving traditional peer in the same analysis sustainable funds delivered an average annual return of 6 9 compared with 6 3 from more traditional funds 7 | |
how much money is invested in green funds | estimates of the total portfolio value of green funds vary widely due to the subjective meaning of the term according to the forum for sustainable and responsible investment there were 3 1 trillion in assets managed by registered investment companies with esg criteria such as mutual funds and index funds in 2020 5 | |
what do green funds invest in | broadly speaking green funds seek to invest in businesses with positive environmental impacts but there are several strategies to do so some green funds simply seek to create a portfolio of companies that do not rely on fossil fuels deforestation or other unsustainable business activities others actively seek to support companies engaged in new energy research sustainable materials or other technologies with environmental benefits | |
what is green investing | green investing seeks to support business practices that have a favorable impact on the natural environment often grouped with socially responsible investing sri or environmental social and governance esg criteria green investments focus on companies or projects committed to the conservation of natural resources pollution reduction or other environmentally conscious business practices green investments may fit under the umbrella of sri but are more specific some investors buy green bonds green exchange traded funds etfs green index funds green mutual funds or hold stock in environmentally friendly companies to support green initiatives while profit is not the only motive for those investors there is some evidence that green investing may mimic or beat the returns of more traditional assets understanding green investingpure play green investments are those that derive all or most of their revenues and profits from green business activities green investments also can refer to companies that have other lines of business but focus on green based initiatives or product lines there are many potential avenues for businesses seeking to improve the environment some green companies are engaged in renewable energy research or developing eco friendly alternatives to plastics and other materials others may seek to reduce the pollution or other environmental impacts from their production lines because there is no firm definition of the term green what qualifies as a green investment is open to interpretation some investors want only pure play options like renewable fuels and energy saving technology other investors put money behind companies that have good business practices in how they use natural resources and manage waste but also draw their revenue from multiple sources types of green investingthere are several ways to invest in green technology initiatives while once considered risky some green technologies have been able to return strong profits to their investors perhaps the simplest form of green investing is to buy stock in companies with strong environmental commitments many new startups are seeking to develop alternative energies and materials and even traditional players are making sizable bets on a low carbon future some companies such as tesla tsla have been able to reach multibillion dollar valuations by targeting environmentally conscious consumers 1a second route is to invest in green bonds sometimes known as climate bonds these fixed income securities represent loans to help banks companies and government bodies finance projects with a positive impact on the environment 2 according to the climate bonds initiative approximately 1 1 trillion in new green bonds were issued in 2021 3 these bonds also may come with tax incentives making them a more attractive investment than traditional bonds 4another route is to invest in shares of a mutual fund etf or index fund that provides wider exposure to green companies these green funds invest in a basket of promising securities allowing investors to spread their money on a diversified range of environmental projects rather than a single stock or bond there are quite a number of green mutual funds such as the tiaa cref social choice equity fund ticrx trillium esg global equity fund portx and the green century balanced fund gcblx to name a few 5 several indexes seek to track environmentally favorable businesses as well for example the nasdaq clean edge green energy index and the mac global solar energy index both target renewable energy industries 67 funds that follow these indexes invest in renewable energy companies allowing investors to support the new technology while earning a potential profit the amount of new money invested in sustainable funds in 2021 8results of green investingonce considered a niche sector green investing has swelled after several natural disasters brought attention to the oncoming climate crisis the amount of new money in esg funds reached over 70 billion in 2021 almost a third of an increase over the previous year 8although profit is not the only goal of green investing there is evidence that environmentally friendly investments can match or beat the profits of more traditional assets a 2022 study by morningstar inc reported another year of broken records between environmentally sustainable funds and the wider market the study also found that sustainable u s large blend funds beat their traditional peers in 2021 as well as the trailing three and five year periods 9to get the latest analysis and advice on green investing check out the green investor podcast powered by investopedia special considerationsinvesting in green companies can be riskier than other equity strategies as many companies in this arena are in the development stage with low revenues and high earnings valuations however if encouraging eco friendly businesses is important to investors then green investing can be an attractive way to put their money to work the definition of green may vary from one investor to another some so called green funds include companies that operate in the natural gas or oil sectors although these companies also may be researching renewable energy technology some investors might hesitate to invest in a fund associated with fossil fuel companies prospective investors should research their investments by checking out a fund s prospectus or a stock s annual filings to see if the company fits their definition of green some green funds also may invest in more traditional companies such as general motors toyota or even exxonmobil environmentally conscious investors should be careful to check a fund s prospectus to decide if it fits their definition of green green investing vs greenwashinggreenwashing refers to the practice of branding a company or product as environmentally friendly to capitalize on the growing demand for sustainability while green marketing is often sincere many companies have overstated the impact of their environmental practices or downplayed the ecological costs of their products for example some companies have overstated their usage of recycled materials leading consumers to mistakenly believe that their products were more sustainable 10 many companies purchase carbon offsets to reduce their footprints although verifying the true cost of a company s emissions is difficult in a more egregious case ikea was accused of using illegally sourced timber for some of its furniture products to make matters worse the timber had been verified by the forest stewardship council raising ethical questions about the business model of pay for play green labeling 11in the securities world some managed funds have attempted to greenwash themselves by rebranding in a way that suggests a greater level of sustainability the only way to evaluate a fund s sustainability is to examine its assets | |
what are the best green stocks to buy | while there is no surefire way to predict a stock s future earnings some of the most successful green investments have been in the field of renewable energy generation and storage for example tesla s share price grew more than tenfold from 2018 to the middle of 2021 12 in the same period china s longi green energy technology saw its market capitalization rise from 11 billion to nearly 70 5 billion 13 | |
are green investments profitable | while profit is not the only goal of green investing there is evidence that environmentally friendly investments can match or beat the profits of more traditional assets a 2022 study by morningstar inc reported another year of broken records between environmentally sustainable funds and the wider market the study also found that sustainable u s large blend funds beat their traditional peers in 2021 as well as the trailing three and five year periods 9 | |
how can you tell if a green fund is sustainable | each fund holds a basket of securities representing a cross section of a larger part of the market to determine if a green fund is sufficiently sustainable prospective investors should first examine the securities listed in the fund s assets in addition some research firms may offer independent evaluations such as morningstar s sustainability rating or state street s r factor | |
what is green marketing | green marketing refers to the practice of developing and advertising products based on their real or perceived environmental sustainability examples of green marketing include advertising the reduced emissions associated with a product s manufacturing process or the use of post consumer recycled materials for a product s packaging some companies also may market themselves as being environmentally conscious companies by donating a portion of their sales proceeds to environmental initiatives such as tree planting | |
how green marketing works | green marketing is one component of a broader movement toward socially and environmentally conscious business practices increasingly consumers have come to expect companies to demonstrate their commitment to improving their operations alongside various environmental social and governance esg criteria to that end many companies will distribute social impact statements on an ongoing basis in which they periodically self report their progress toward these goals typical examples of esg related improvements include the reduction of carbon emissions involved in a company s operations the maintenance of high labor standards both domestically and throughout international supply chains and philanthropic programs designed to support the communities in which the company operates although green marketing refers specifically to environmental initiatives these efforts are increasingly presented alongside social and corporate governance policies as well | |
when a company s green marketing activities are not substantiated by significant investments or operational changes it may be criticized for false or misleading advertising this practice is also sometimes referred to as greenwashing and the fines and negative press can be tremendous for example on april 8 2022 the federal trade commission ftc made a public announcement that it was issuing a 5 5 million penalty via its penalty offense authority to kohl s inc 2 5 million and walmart inc 3 million due to their deceptive environmental claims about rayon products this is the largest civil penalty in ftc history 1 | there are many incentives for companies that choose to engage in green marketing to begin with a companies perceived commitment to environmental causes is an increasingly important factor influencing many consumers spending habits example of green marketingstarbucks is often cited as a leader in green marketing practices the company has invested heavily in various social and environmental initiatives in recent years for example in a 2018 report starbucks reported that it had committed over 140 million to the development of renewable energy sources 2 the company purchases enough renewable energy to power all of its company operated stores throughout north america and the united kingdom 3similarly the company has made investments in social impact projects through initiatives such as the starbucks college achievement plan through this project many u s based starbucks employees who work more than 20 hours a week on average are eligible to receive fully paid tuition to the online undergraduate degree program offered by arizona state university 4 this project as well as similar commitments in areas related to the employment of veterans have formed an important part of starbucks green marketing initiatives from an investor s point of view these kinds of green marketing initiatives can prove essential in building and maintaining a valuable brand particularly for consumer facing companies such as starbucks however some critics argue that green marketing can exacerbate the existing advantages of larger companies at the expense of their small or mid sized competitors after all implementing robust social or environmental programs often involves additional overhead costs for large companies these costs can easily be borne and may even form part of the company s existing marketing budget for smaller companies however the addition of these costs may significantly impair the profitability or viability of the business | |
what is greenwashing | greenwashing is when a company makes claims about its positive environmental endeavors but is misleading the public about them or outright lying if a company s green marketing activities are found to be false the company may be hit with heavy penalties and bad press | |
what are some green companies | starbucks patagonia and burts bees are all active in green marketing due to the high level of positive ecological and social programs that these companies support | |
what is an example of green marketing | green marketing focuses on myriad environmentally friendly policies and initiatives that illuminate products and services that are more beneficial or at least less harmful to the environment than other products | |
what is green monday | green monday is one of the retail industry s busiest shopping days it represents the day many shoppers rush to purchase last minute holiday gifts and take advantage of deals green monday occurs on the second monday of every december the term green monday was reportedly created ebay ebay as a way to represent the rush of last minute online shoppers along with the value and savings the site offers its users 1understanding green mondayonline site ebay claims to have coined the phrase green monday in 2007 after it realized that the second monday in december was one of its most profitable sales days 12 green monday is also known as cyber monday 2 in retail circles due to its high volume of online shoppers seeking last minute holiday deals the term green in green monday can refer to green for dollars or environmentally green for those who consider online shopping a more eco friendly endeavor than racking up deals in brick and mortar stores 3green monday is eclipsed by black friday and cyber monday in terms of popularity but this retail event is becoming a marker of holiday sales 4 green monday is promoted by big box stores and online shopping giants like amazon amzn and target tgt other retailers may simply offer holiday deals on that day to reach holiday shoppers and reduce merchandise before the end of the year green monday 2023 is dec 11 green monday vs other retail daysgreen monday occurs in december just weeks before christmas but the holiday shopping season typically begins after the thanksgiving holiday in the united states sales were traditionally exclusive to the friday after thanksgiving now some large retailers offer sales weeks before and for several days after thanksgiving tand there is no shortage of catchphrases for the major retail shopping days that occur near the holiday shopping season for instance retailers offer discounts online and in store on black friday many open their doors during the predawn hours on black friday to keep up with the competition some retailers keep their operations going on the thanksgiving holiday while others begin offering deals earlier during november many people are off of work and eager to spend money online and traditional retailers capitalize on this busy shopping day by offering special sales some analysts and investors look at black friday sales numbers as a litmus test of the overall health of the entire retail industry if you had packages to send out for the 2022 holiday season green monday was less than a week before shipping dates kicked in that year according to the usps dec 17 2022 was the last date to send domestic packages using regular ground shipping ups ground shipping users needed to check the company s website for its zip code s cutoff date usps priority mail and ups next day air users could wait as late as dec 19 2022 and dec 22 2022 respectively 78 fedex s cutoff for ground shipping was dec 14 2022 9as noted above small business saturday occurs each year on the saturday after thanksgiving and immediately after black friday the event was established by american express in 2010 to help drum up support for small businesses that suffered during the financial crisis 10small business saturday is geared toward businesses such as mom and pop shops restaurants grocery stores small businesses that operate online and those that provide services like salons mechanics caterers makeup artists pet groomers and cleaners cyber monday describes the monday following thanksgiving when online retailers offer above average deals to entice consumers to shop online it is like black friday but for online shoppers cyber monday is now a global phenomenon and in recent years sales on that day have exceeded black friday sales 11cyber monday retailers often have cyber monday sales occurring at the same time as black friday sales this tactic targets all types of consumers those who enjoy the hustle and bustle of black friday shopping and also those who prefer to shop online approximately 196 7 million consumers in the u s shopped during the 2022 five day holiday weekend between thanksgiving day and cyber monday up almost 17 million compared to 2021 and the highest since 2017 according to the national retail federation 12 | |
when is green monday | green monday occurs on the second monday in december each year in 2023 green monday takes place on dec 11 | |
when did green monday start | the first green monday was in december 2007 ebay maintains it created the name after it figured out that the second monday in december was one of its biggest sales days of the year 2 | |
green tech refers to a type of technology that is considered environmentally friendly based on its production process or its supply chain green tech an abbreviation of green technology can also refer to clean energy production the use of alternative fuels and technologies that are less harmful to the environment than fossil fuels | although the market for green technology is relatively young it has garnered a significant amount of investor interest due to increasing awareness about the impacts of climate change and the depletion of natural resources understanding green techgreen technology is an umbrella term that describes the use of technology and science to create products and services that are environmentally friendly green tech is related to cleantech which specifically refers to products or services that improve operational performance while also reducing costs energy consumption waste or negative effects on the environment the goal of green tech is to protect the environment repair damage done to the environment in the past and conserve the earth s natural resources green tech has also become a burgeoning industry that has attracted enormous amounts of investment capital the use of green tech can be a stated goal of a business segment or a company these goals are typically outlined in a company s environmental sustainability and governance esg statement or can even be found in the mission statement of a firm increasingly socially responsible investors are looking to narrow down their prospective investments to only include companies that specifically employ or produce green technologies the 1 2 trillion infrastructure investment and jobs act signed into law by president joe biden on nov 15 2021 earmarks substantial allocations for green tech these include the largest investment in clean energy transmission and electric vehicle infrastructure in history electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country and creating a new authority to build a resilient clean electric grid 1history of green techwhile green tech has become increasingly popular in the modern age elements of these business practices have been in use since the industrial revolution beginning in the early 19th century scientists began to observe the ecological impacts of coal burning industrial plants and manufacturers have sought to reduce their negative environmental externalities by altering production processes to produce less soot or waste byproducts in the united states one of the most important milestones was world war ii in order to reduce consumption and waste more than 400 000 volunteers began collecting metal paper rubber and other materials for the war effort 2following the war scientists like rachel carson began warning of the consequences of chemical pesticides while doctors abroad reported mysterious illnesses associated with nuclear radiation 345 many point to this era as the genesis of the ecological movement which sought to preserve ecosystems and resources while raising awareness of the consequences of runaway technology government bodies slowly recognized the importance of protecting environmental resources curbside recycling programs became common over the following decades raising awareness about household waste the environmental protection agency established in 1970 set firm requirements on pollution and waste and established mandates for coal scrubbers and other clean technologies 6in the united states the first major recycling program was launched during world war ii nearly half a million volunteers pitched in recycling tens of thousands of tons of waste to help the war effort 2types of green techgreen technology is a broad category that encompasses several forms of environmental remediation while climate change and carbon emissions are now considered among the most pressing global issues there are also many efforts to address local environmental hazards some seek to protect specific ecosystems or endangered species others seek to conserve scarce natural resources by finding more sustainable alternatives in order to provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels many businesses are seeking to engineer alternative sources of energy that do not generate atmospheric carbon solar and wind power are now among the most inexpensive sources of energy and solar panels are affordable to u s homeowners at a consumer scale 78 other alternatives such as geothermal and tidal energy have yet to be deployed at scale nearly a third of u s greenhouse gas emissions are released by transportation activities according to the environmental protection agency 9 many manufacturers are exploring ways to reduce automotive emissions either by designing more fuel efficient engines or shifting to electrical power however electric vehicles require a host of innovations in other spheres such as high capacity rechargeable batteries and charging infrastructure in addition the benefits of electric vehicles are limited by the fact that many power grids still rely on fossil fuels farming and livestock have a substantial environmental footprint from the high costs of land and water usage to the ecological consequences of pesticides fertilizers and animal waste as a result there are many opportunities for green technology in the area of agriculture for example organic farming techniques can reduce the damage due to soil exhaustion innovations in cattle feed can reduce methane emissions and meat substitutes can reduce the consumption of livestock recycling seeks to conserve scarce resources by reusing materials or finding sustainable substitutes while plastic glass paper and metal waste are the most familiar forms of recycling more sophisticated operations can be used to recover expensive raw materials from e waste or automobile parts carbon capture refers to a group of experimental technologies that seek to remove and sequester greenhouse gases either at the point of combustion or from the atmosphere this technology has been heavily promoted by the fossil fuel industry although it has yet to deliver on those expectations 10 the largest carbon capture facility can absorb 4 000 tons of carbon dioxide per year a minuscule amount compared to annual emissions 11the amount of new energy capacity that comes from wind and solar power 12adoption of green techwhile green tech is a broad and hard to define category some types of green technology have experienced wide adoption several countries have launched initiatives to eliminate single use plastics a goal that would require sizeable investments in alternatives such as paper substitutes bioplastics or recycling technologies singapore for example has pledged to reach 70 recycling by 2030 13renewable energy is another frontier for green tech adoption with fossil fuels recognized as a significant driver for climate change according to the energy information administration solar and wind power together will account for 71 of the new energy capacity added in 2024 12 worldwide global investment in all renewable energy sources exceeded 1 74 trillion in 2022 14 | |
do benefits outweigh the costs | while green technologies have the shared goal of preserving biodiversity and conserving the earth s resources there are few ways to do so without affecting the environment in other ways in some cases reducing environmental costs in one area means causing adverse impacts in another for example the batteries in electric vehicles rely on lithium an element that is often strip mined from south american rain forests 15 hydroelectric dams have low carbon emissions but high impacts on the salmon and other species that rely on those waterways 16 green energy devicessuch as solar panels and wind turbines require a host of rare minerals that can only be extracted with the use of toxic chemicals 1718this does not necessarily mean that green technology is a lost cause but it does require careful accounting to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs obstacles to the adoption of green techthere are several obstacles to adopting green technology including the high initial costs developing and implementing sustainable technologies often requires significant investments that deter many businesses and consumers additionally the lack of financial incentives and subsidies can make it challenging for smaller entities to bear the upfront expenses slowing down the overall pace of green tech adoption another major hurdle is the insufficient infrastructure to support new green technologies many regions lack the necessary facilities this inadequate support network hampers the efficient use of green tech making it less attractive to potential adopters additionally existing policies and regulations often lag behind technological advances further complicating widespread implementation supply chain challenges have also been an obstacle including a shortage of transformers that are needed to connect clean energy to the grid 19 | |
is green tech a growth industry | green technology is undoubtedly a growth industry driven by increasing global awareness and the urgent need for sustainable solutions as governments and organizations prioritize environmental policies investments in clean energy electric vehicles and sustainable agriculture are booming this surge in funding and innovation highlights the sector s potential for rapid expansion and possibly long term profitability solar power was the fastest growing power source in the u s in 2023 19 a record 31 gigawatts gw of solar energy capacity was installed in the u s in 2023 representing a 55 increase from 2022 moreover consumer demand for eco friendly products and services is high propelling the green tech market forward in a 2020 mckinsey survey more than 60 of respondents said they d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging 20 another study by mckinsey and nielseniq found that products making esg related claims saw more sales growth from 2017 to 2022 averaging 28 cumulative growth compared to 20 growth for products that made no esg related claims 20companies that adopt and develop green technologies can potentially gain competitive advantages attracting both customers and investors this growing interest not only boosts industry revenue but also encourages further advancements establishing green tech as a cornerstone of future economic growth | |
what is the cheapest form of green energy | the cheapest form of alternative energy is solar power according to the international energy agency in its 2020 world outlook report the agency found that photovoltaic solar energy is consistently cheaper than new coal or gas fired power plants in most countries and solar projects now offer some of the lowest cost electricity ever seen 21 | |
how do you invest in green technology | the easiest way to invest in green tech is to buy stock in companies that are making major bets on environmentally friendly technologies investors can attempt to identify individual stocks or simply invest in a mutual fund index fund or another instrument that seeks to reflect the broader market for environmental investments the advantage to the latter approach is that the investor will gain diversified exposure to the green tech industry rather than the fortunes of a single company | |
is nuclear power green | nuclear power is a deeply controversial subject and many scientists have disputed its benefits although nuclear power derived from fission can provide reliable inexpensive electricity without greenhouse gases it also produces highly radioactive waste that must be stored for thousands of years some activists have argued that nuclear power can never be safely generated and a number of high profile accidents notably at chernobyl and fukushima have highlighted these concerns however it should also be noted that the combined death toll from nuclear accidents is far lower than the annual fatalities from fossil fuel pollution 22 | |
what is the main purpose of green tech | the main purpose of green tech is to promote sustainability and minimize environmental degradation through innovative technical solutions | |
which country has the most green technology | norway along with its nordic counterparts such as sweden and denmark is recognized globally for pioneering green tech renewable energy and sustainable resource management 23the bottom linegreen tech is a growing industry that has drawn significant interest and investments in recent years driven by increasing concern over climate change and the depletion of natural resources around the world green tech involves the creation and use of alternative fuels and less harmful technologies aiming to protect the environment repair environmental damage and conserve the earth s natural resources | |
what is a greenback | a greenback is a slang term for u s paper dollars the term originated during the mid 1860s when these notes were printed in green ink congress had limited taxing authority and used paper currency to help finance the civil war the word greenback was a negative term because these notes did not have secure financial backing and banks were reluctant to give customers the full value of the dollar understanding greenbacksit took half a century to get all foreign coins and competing state currencies out of circulation but by the early 1800s the u s was ready to try the paper money experiment again bank notes had been in circulation for a while but because banks issued more notes than they had coins to cover these notes often traded at less than face value 12in the 1860s the u s created over 400 million in legal tender to finance its war against itself the government had earlier issued bonds to raise capital however the war s timeline depleted its finances 3the idea of issuing paper money was opposed by bankers because it would bring the federal government into markets and could potentially translate to its bankruptcy if the war failed to go in its favor to prevent such an eventuality the paper money s value depended on the health of the individual banks issuing the currency 3they were called greenbacks simply because the backs were printed in green the government backed this currency and stated that it could be used to pay back public and private debts however despite the government backing they were not exchangeable for gold or silver 3today the term greenback is an anecdotal term used by foreign exchange traders for the u s dollar demand notes vs paper notesgreenbacks came in two forms demand notes and u s paper notes demand notes were issued in 1861 and 1862 to pay for salaries and other government expenses during the civil war in february of 1862 the legal tender act saw the government issue paper notes which would eventually become the official currency of the u s as demand notes were phased out 43during this period the value fluctuated according to the north s success or failure at certain stages in the war 5 however due to the size of the issue 400 million the value of greenbacks against gold steadily declined 5according to h w brand s book greenback planet how the dollar conquered the world and threatened civilization as we know it the value of the greenback had a temporary recovery in value after the battle of gettysburg before plummeting to a value of 258 greenback to 100 gold its lowest point in 1864 when the war ended in 1865 the value of the greenback recovered to 150 greenback to 100 gold 6demand notes were not legal tender meaning that private parties could refuse them as payment banks varied in their willingness to accept the paper notes 4greenbacks are reported to have funded 15 of the war s costs but the rise in their value also increased the cost of everyday goods and supplies inflation was 14 in 1862 and 25 in 1863 and 1864 7 | |
what is greenmail | greenmail is the practice of buying enough shares in a company to threaten a hostile takeover so that the target company will instead repurchase its shares at a premium regarding mergers and acquisitions the company makes a greenmail payment as a defensive measure to stop the takeover bid the target company must repurchase the stock at a substantial premium to thwart the takeover which results in a considerable profit for the greenmailer understanding greenmaillike blackmail greenmail is money paid to an entity to stop or prevent aggressive behavior in mergers and acquisitions it is an anti takeover measure in which the target company pays a premium known as greenmail to purchase its own shares back at inflated prices from a corporate raider after accepting the greenmail payment the raider generally agrees to discontinue the takeover and not buy any more shares for a specific time the term greenmail stems from a combination of blackmail and greenbacks u s dollars the high number of corporate mergers that occurred during the 1980s led to a wave of greenmail during that time it was suspected that some corporate raiders seeking only to profit initiated takeover bids with no intention of following through on the takeover greenmail is much less common today because of laws regulations taxes and anti greenmail provisions although greenmail still occurs tacitly in various forms several federal and state regulations made it much more difficult in 1987 the internal revenue service irs introduced an excise tax of 50 on greenmail profits 1 furthermore companies have introduced various defense mechanisms referred to as poison pills to deter activist investors from making hostile takeover bids an anti greenmail provision is a special clause in a firm s corporate charter that prevents the board of directors from approving greenmail payments an anti greenmail rule will remove the possibility that a board takes the expedient way out and pays off an unwelcome acquirer of the company s shares leaving shareholders worse off criticism of greenmailgreenmail is often seen as a predatory practice bordering on extortion in this view the greenmailer who buys up shares does not intend to participate in the company s operations as a shareholder instead the greenmailer buys the shares intending only to threaten management with a hostile takeover or other actions if successful critics believe that the greenmailer profits at the company s expense while providing nothing in return greenmail is conceptually similar to blackmail but green denotes legitimate money benefits of greenmaildespite its sinister reputation some forms of greenmail can be seen as free market solutions to real disputes between shareholders a corporate raider may genuinely believe that resources within the company are not used effectively one solution may be to sell off assets at a profit to other firms which can presumably put them to better use this arrangement could be beneficial to the corporate raider other shareholders and society as a whole however the firm s management may not share the corporate raider s view that their assets would be put to better use by others suppose that management can come up with the funds to pay greenmail instead that provides a sort of free market proof that the assets should remain under the firm s control the corporate raider forgoes the profits that could be made selling off assets by selling shares instead if the raider can make more money selling the assets greenmail does not occur because it would be unprofitable and economically inefficient hence greenmail only takes place when it is beneficial in this view real world examplesir james goldsmith was a notorious corporate raider in the 1980s he orchestrated two high profile greenmail campaigns against st regis paper company and goodyear tire and rubber company gt goldsmith earned 51 million from his st regis venture and 93 million from his goodyear raid which took only two months in october 1986 goldsmith purchased an 11 5 stake in goodyear at an average cost of 42 per share he also filed plans to finance a takeover of the company with the securities and exchange commission sec part of his plan was to have the company sell off all its assets except its tire business this plan was not well received among goodyear executives in response to goodyear s resistance goldsmith proposed to sell his stake back to the company for 49 50 a share this type of strong arm proposal is often referred to as the ransom or the goodbye kiss eventually goodyear accepted and subsequently repurchased 40 million shares from shareholders at 50 per share which cost the company 2 9 billion goodyear s share price fell to 42 immediately following the repurchase | |
what is a greensheet | a greensheet is a document prepared by an underwriter to summarize the main components of a new issue or initial public offering ipo such documents are for internal use only functioning as a marketing tool to help drum up interest from prospective institutional investors and brokers understanding a greensheetcompanies mainly issue new stock or bonds to raise capital for expansion any time a security is sold on the market for the first time it can be described as a new issue that includes securities for ipos the process whereby a private corporation gives up part of its ownership by offering shares to the general public though potentially lucrative issuing new securities is a complicated and challenging process that requires significant legwork companies are legally obligated to follow certain protocols and file lots of paperwork when taking this route companies will also do plenty of their own due diligence to ensure that this expensive time consuming task is worth pursuing one of the many important steps that must be taken is the hiring of an underwriter these financial specialists work closely with the issuing body to determine the initial offering price of the securities buy the securities from the issuer and then sell them to investors via their distribution network a key part of the underwriter s job involves putting together a greensheet an internal marketing document circulated to brokers and institutional sales desks of the underwriting firm laying out the main information related to the offering the purpose of a greensheet is to prepare salespeople to effectively market a new issue to the public and to determine which clients may be interested in becoming large volume buyers greensheet vs prospectusa greensheet is only an introduction to a new security issue and is not intended to be comprehensive in nature for a complete breakdown of what an investment offering represents it is necessary to consult the prospectus a formal document required by and filed with the securities and exchange commission sec that is made available to everyone the prospectus is used to help sell an investment to the general public a greensheet on the other hand is only designed for internal use and contains information considered most important to a registered representative rr generally a greensheet will contain a brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages of the new issue including any benefits and risks as well as insights on initial pricing armed with these basic details an rr can then decide whether it wants to offer the issue to its clients a greensheet must not be circulated outside of the brokers and institutional sales desks of the underwriting firm by law it should only contain information that would appear in the issue s prospectus special considerationsa greensheet by law contains only information that would appear in the issue s prospectus its job is to make a balanced presentation of the contents found in a prospectus and not add anything new the greensheet should also contain a disclosure that explains the purpose of the document the restrictions on its distribution the limitations on the information it contains and a statement that specifies that the information is not a solicitation of securities | |
what is a greenshoe option | a greenshoe option is a provision in an initial public offering ipo underwriting agreement that grants the underwriter the right to sell more shares than originally planned if the demand for a security issue proves higher than expected it is also called an over allotment option investopedia lara antal | |
how a greenshoe option works | a greenshoe option provides additional price stability to a security issue because the underwriter can increase supply and smooth out price fluctuations 1 it is the only type of price stabilization measure permitted by the securities and exchange commission sec 23greenshoe options typically allow underwriters to sell up to 15 more shares than the original amount set by the issuer for up to 30 days after the ipo if demand conditions warrant such action 1 for example if a company instructs the underwriters to sell 200 million shares the underwriters can issue an additional 30 million shares by exercising a greenshoe option 200 million shares x 15 since underwriters receive their commission as a percentage of the ipo they have the incentive to make it as large as possible the prospectus which the issuing company files with the sec before the ipo details the actual percentage and conditions related to the option over allotment options are known as greenshoe options because green shoe manufacturing company now part of wolverine world wide inc www as stride rite was the first to issue this type of option 1underwriters use greenshoe options in one of two ways first if the ipo is a success and the share price surges the underwriters exercise the option buy the extra stock from the company at the predetermined price and issue those shares at a profit to their clients conversely if the price starts to fall they buy back the shares from the market instead of the company to cover their short position supporting the stock to stabilize its price some issuers prefer not to include greenshoe options in their underwriting agreements under certain circumstances such as if the issuer wants to fund a specific project with a fixed amount and has no requirement for additional capital underwriters can choose to either fully or partially exercise the option example of a greenshoe optionfacebook inc now meta meta agreed to a greenshoe option when it listed its shares in 2012 the underwriting syndicate headed by morgan stanley ms agreed with facebook to purchase 421 million shares at 38 per share less a 1 1 underwriting fee however the syndicate sold at least 484 million shares to clients 15 above the initial allocation effectively creating a short position of 63 million shares 45if facebook shares had traded above the 38 ipo price shortly after listing the underwriting syndicate would ve exercised the greenshoe option to buy the 63 million shares from facebook at 38 to cover their short position and avoid having to repurchase the shares at a higher price in the market however because facebook s shares declined below the ipo price soon after it commenced trading the underwriting syndicate covered its short position without exercising the greenshoe option at or around 38 to stabilize the price and defend it from steeper falls | |
what impact does a greenshoe option have on investors | greenshoe options can essentially result in more shares being available to buy at the ipo stage opening the doors up to more participants they can also reduce initial share price volatility | |
why is it called greenshoe option | over allotment options are called greenshoes because the green shoe manufacturing company was the first to use this clause in an underwriting agreement | |
what are the types of greenshoe options | there are three main types of greenshoe option full partial and reverse with the full option the underwriter sells the maximum amount of extra shares from the company with the partial option they sell more than the originally agreed amount but less than the maximum permitted and with a reverse option the underwriter sells the extra shares back to the issuing company | |
what is the maximum greenshoe | usually the maximum amount of extra shares the underwriters can sell is 15 more than the initial agreed upon amount the bottom linegreenshoe options give underwriters the opportunity to sell more shares during an ipo they help to meet high demand and increase the amount of capital a company raises and are very common in the u s typically the over allotment provision permits underwriters to sell up to 15 more shares at the agreed upon ipo price and can be exercised within 30 days after the ipo | |
what is greenspan put | greenspan put was the moniker given to the policies implemented by alan greenspan during his tenure as federal reserve fed chair the greenspan led fed was extremely proactive in halting excessive stock market declines acting as a form of insurance against losses similar to a regular put option investopedia bailey marinerunderstanding greenspan putgreenspan was chair of the federal reserve fed from 1987 to 2006 throughout his tenure he sought to support the u s economy by actively using the federal funds rate and other policies in the fed s arsenal to buoy the markets especially stock markets 1essentially the greenspan put is a type of a fed put the term fed put a play on the option term put is the market belief that the fed would step in and implement policies to limit the stock market s decline beyond a certain threshold during greenspan s tenure it was widely believed that a stock market decline of over 20 which typically denotes a bear market would prompt the fed to lower the fed funds rate this was seen as insurance and allayed the fears of investors that a protracted and costly market decline would occur a consequence of greenspan s policies was that investors were more prone to excessive risk taking in stock markets leading to market bubbles which at times resulted in more market volatility experienced investors needing to buy protection from the actions of short sellers speculators and so on resorted to the time tested trading strategy of buying put options to protect their portfolios from excessive market declines precipitated by the inevitable bursting of these market bubbles a put can be utilized in a trading strategy of hedging against price risk and has been used by traders to offset unwelcome market volatility that could adversely affect their portfolios this strategy could help investors mitigate losses and potentially profit while still holding on to their stock positions for example as internet stocks fell drastically in price from 2000 to 2002 some investors profited mightily by deploying this strategy in practice the idea might have advocated the notion that if you bought an internet stock and then it dramatically rose in price over a few months then to preserve your gains you would buy a put option with several months duration to protect those shares however the moniker greenspan put differs from the traditional put option strategy in that there is not a specific investing or trading methodology rather it is the generalized notion of a commitment that has never been officially confirmed that the greenspan led fed would be extremely proactive in halting excessive stock market declines some have suggested that an unintended consequence of greenspan put was to make put option derivative strategies profitable especially in times surrounding a crisis the chart below seems to give some historical support for why investors held that notion image by sabrina jiang investopedia 2021this chart shows how beginning in 1997 average implied volatility began to rise and remained elevated through 2004 since the phrase greenspan put was more heavily referenced in the late 1990s it seems rational that investors and traders would hold this perception from that time forward however the fundamental factors that correspond to greenspan s philosophy for how the fed should accomplish its stated goals equally contribute to the use of this phrase greenspan s actionsone of greenspan s first meaningful acts as chair occurred following the 1987 stock market crash he immediately lowered rates to help companies recover from the crisis and set a precedent that the fed would intervene in times of crisis 23this assumption of intervention and support from the fed induced risk taking that made trading and investing in general more attractive as valuations rose beyond recognizably acceptable ranges professional investors were less able to rationalize whether it was a sound decision to participate in some stocks especially internet related stocks which were booming in this environment stock prices could make wild fluctuations making put options an ever more popular insurance to investors the inflated valuations and rising prices made it difficult for seasoned investors to buy stocks without considering put option protection in the early 1990s greenspan instituted a series of rate decreases lasting until approximately 1993 2 through greenspan s tenure there were also several instances where the fed intervened to support exorbitant risk taking in the stock market including market moving events such as the savings and loan crisis gulf war mexican crisis asian financial crisis long term capital management ltcm crisis y2k and especially the bursting of the dotcom bubble following the market s peak in 2000 source the new york timesoverall the greenspan put ushered in an era that encouraged risk taking since it was expected that the fed would be tacitly providing insurance against excessive market declines much like a regular put option would do greenspan most often used a reduction in interest rates to stem market declines the chart above shows the general downward trend of the federal funds target rate through greenspan s time as chair the effects of the fed s rate reductions helped and encouraged investors to borrow funds more cheaply to invest in the securities market which added to an environment of risk taking fed puts post greenspanon february 1 2006 ben bernanke replaced greenspan as the federal reserve board frb chair bernanke followed a similar strategy to greenspan in 2007 and 2008 the combination of rate reduction timing implemented by greenspan and bernanke has been generally attributed to supporting excessive risk taking in the financial markets which many believe to have been a catalyst contributing to the conditions of the 2008 financial crisis 4however as the chart below shows in the decade that followed the financial crisis the results of such policies are not so obviously seen as encouraging inordinate risk the same policies implemented by greenspan and bernanke continued in measured degree with subsequent chairs janet yellen and jerome powell as the chart shows the historical results after 2008 demonstrated on average much less volatility in both stock and option prices than the decade that preceded it image by sabrina jiang investopedia 2021 | |
what is greenwashing | greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company s products are environmentally sound greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than they actually do in addition greenwashing may occur when a company attempts to emphasize sustainable aspects of a product to overshadow the company s involvement in environmentally damaging practices performed through the use of environmental imagery misleading labels and hiding tradeoffs greenwashing is a play on the term whitewashing which means using false information to intentionally hide wrongdoing error or an unpleasant situation in an attempt to make it seem less bad than it is | |
how greenwashing works | also known as green sheen greenwashing is an attempt to capitalize on the growing demand for environmentally sound products whether that means they are more natural healthier free of chemicals recyclable or less wasteful of natural resources the term originated in the 1960s when the hotel industry devised one of the most blatant examples of greenwashing they placed notices in hotel rooms asking guests to reuse their towels to save the environment the hotels enjoyed the benefit of lower laundry costs more recently some of the world s biggest carbon emitters such as conventional energy companies have attempted to rebrand themselves as champions of the environment products are greenwashed through a process of renaming rebranding or repackaging them greenwashed products might convey the idea that they re more natural wholesome or free of chemicals than competing brands companies have engaged in greenwashing via press releases and commercials touting their clean energy or pollution reduction efforts in reality the company may not be making a meaningful commitment to green initiatives in short companies that make unsubstantiated claims that their products are environmentally safe or provide some green benefit are involved in greenwashing products that are actually eco friendly can benefit from green marketing which highlights the environmental benefits of the product and the company making it however if a company s green marketing activities are found to be false then the company may be accused of greenwashing and be hit with penalties bad press and reputational damage and be forced to clean up the damaged environment |
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