Friday, March 13, 2009

New Video: S2. Securitization, CDOs and the Sub-Prime Crisis

The volume of issue of CDOs and the corresponding ability of banks to issue mortgages had a significant impact on the quantity of mortgages that could be made by banks. This video explores the topic of securitization further with a particular focus on CDOs and how that relates to the sub-prime crisis.

E3B. Introduction to Deflation

Deflation very much related to the subject of inflation, and in fact is a negative rate of inflation (i.e. prices are falling) for a sustained period of time. This video introduces deflation and some of the issues associated with it.

New Video: 36C. Defined Contribution Plans

Defined Contribution Plans are the other of the two main pension plans available for many employees - and in fact, they have become the prevalent form of retirement or pension plan type in most countries, particularly in the private sector.

New Video: 36B. Defined Benefit Pension Plans

Defined benefit pension plans are one of the two main categories of pension plans available. This video follows on from the types of pension plans video to provide more information on this particular type.

Monday, March 9, 2009

New Video: 25. Closed-Ended Funds

We sometimes hear about closed-ended funds which are a type of fund that shares similarities with standard mutual funds which are open-ended, but also has some very key difference in particular with respect to how money flows in and out of the funds.

New Video: 18. Dividends

Companies can pay out a part of their earnings in the form of dividends which shareholders receive as one element of their potential return (the other being capital appreciation).

This video provides more information on this and how this looks both from the company's and the investor's perspective.

Although dividends come up in a number of other videos, this video focuses specifically on the subject.