BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a global investment management company. The publicly traded company had a market capitalization of nearly $112.85 billion as of April 18, 2024. BlackRock provides investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients. Clients look to BlackRock for access to mutual funds, investments focused on objectives related to retirement income and college
Vitalik Buterin lacks the enigmatic mystery of the anonymous founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. But he’s rapidly become one of cryptocurrency’s leading personalities. Vitalik Buterin’s the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), the second most popular crypto. With a market capitalization of more than INR 13 trillion, Ethereum is the biggest altcoin. But beyond its dominant market position, Ethereum has shown
What Is Margin? In finance, the margin is the collateral that an investor has to deposit with their broker or exchange to cover the credit risk the holder poses for the broker or the exchange. An investor can create credit risk if they borrow cash from the broker to buy financial instruments, borrow financial instruments to sell them short, or enter into a derivative contract. Buying on margin occurs when
What Is Futures Trading? Futures trading involves contracts agreeing to buy or sell an asset at a specific price on a predetermined future date. This asset can be a commodity like oil or gold, a security like a stock, or even a financial instrument like a currency. Futures are contracts to buy or sell a
What Is a Spot Trade? A spot trade, also known as a spot transaction, refers to the purchase or sale of a foreign currency, financial instrument, or commodity for instant delivery on a specified spot date. Most spot contracts include the physical delivery of the currency, commodity, or instrument; the difference in the price of a future or forward
What Is Investing? Investing, broadly, is putting money to work for a period of time in some sort of project or undertaking to generate positive returns (i.e., profits that exceed the amount of the initial investment). It is the act of allocating resources, usually capital (i.e., money), with the expectation of generating an income, profit,
Why do countries keep gold reserves? Because gold reserves are critical for the economic stability of a country, acting as a reliable store of value, particularly during financial uncertainties. The gold standard was a global practice in the late 1800s and a significant part of the 1900s. In this era, countries backed the value of
What Is Monetary Policy? Monetary policy is a set of tools used by a nation’s central bank to control the overall money supply and promote economic growth and employ strategies such as revising interest rates and changing bank reserve requirements. In the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank implements monetary policy through a dual mandate to achieve maximum employment
What Is the Federal Reserve System (FRS)? The Federal Reserve System (FRS) is the central bank of the United States. Often called the Fed, it is arguably the most influential financial institution in the world. It was founded to provide the country with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.1 The Fed has a board of seven members
An algorithm is a procedure used for solving a problem or performing a computation. Algorithms act as an exact list of instructions that conduct specified actions step by step in either hardware- or software-based routines. Algorithms are widely used throughout all areas of IT. In mathematics, computer programming and computer science, an algorithm usually refers to a small