How Stock Spinoffs Work: Section 355 Tax-Free Explained
Spinoffs detach a subsidiary into its own public stock. Here’s how Section 355 keeps the deal tax-free, plus the FedEx Freight playbook.
Market Education
Learn how stocks, bonds and capital markets work. Explore plain-English explanations, worked examples and charts, then follow related coverage to connect market concepts with current events. Find your way around ECMSource.
Tax-Loss Harvesting and the Wash Sale Rule Explained
How tax-loss harvesting works, the 61-day wash sale window, and what counts as ‘substantially identical’ under the 2026 capital gains brackets.
Options Greeks Explained: Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega, Rho
A plain-English guide to the five option Greeks — what each measures, when it matters, and how traders use them in real positions.
Merger Arbitrage Explained: Deal Spreads and Risk
Merger arb is the spread between a target’s price and the deal price. Here is the math, the risk, and a worked example on the Paramount-WBD deal.
Net Interest Margin Explained: How Banks Make Money
Net interest margin is the spread banks earn between asset yields and funding costs. Q1 2026 industry NIM hit 3.31%. Here’s how it works.
Sortino Ratio Explained: Why Downside Risk Beats Sharpe
The Sortino ratio measures returns per unit of downside risk, not total volatility. Here is the formula, a worked example, and when to use it.
Fed Stress Test 2026: What June 24 Will Tell Investors
The Fed releases 2026 stress test results on June 24. With buffers frozen through 2027, the numbers matter — but not the way they used to.
FedEx Q4 Preview: First Earnings After the Freight Spinoff
FedEx reports Q4 FY26 on June 23 — the first print without FedEx Freight. Street sees $5.80 EPS, down 4.5% YoY. What investors are watching.
Value at Risk Explained: How Banks Measure Tail Risk
Value at Risk turns a portfolio’s potential loss into one number. Here is how the three methods work, why VaR misses the tail, and what regulators use instead.
Cash Conversion Cycle Explained: DSO, DIO, DPO
The cash conversion cycle measures how many days a company’s cash is tied up in operations. Here is the formula, a worked example, and why negative CCC is the holy grail of working capital.